AI usage pressure attenuates the indirect association of course development satisfaction with psychological adjustment through AI proficiency (moderated mediation index = −0.051)¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? The positive association between AI proficiency and psychological adjustment weakens as AI usage pressure rises, becoming non-significant at 1 SD above the mean (simple slope B = 0.20, p = 0.052). → Zhang J and Yin Y 2026

Evidence¶

Zhang J and Yin Y 2026¶

Zhang J and Yin Y (2026). A study on AI-enabled course development, AI proficiency, and first-year students' academic and psychological adjustment. Front. Psychol. 17:1909803. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1909803

q2 · i? · associational · r2

A moderated mediation model (PROCESS Model 14) in the 551-student survey showed the proficiency–adjustment interaction with AI usage pressure was negative and significant (B = −0.11, p = 0.004). Conditional indirect effects fell from 0.161 (low pressure) to 0.088 (high pressure); the article reports "The moderated mediation index was −0.051 (95% CI [−0.095, −0.017]), which does not include zero."

"The moderated mediation index was −0.051 (95% CI [−0.095, −0.017]), which does not include zero, supporting H6: the indirect association between course development satisfaction and self-reported psychological adjustment through AI proficiency was significantly attenuated by AI usage pressure"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• AI proficiency moderates the association between course development satisfaction and academic adjustment, which is stronger among students with higher AI proficiency — related
• AI proficiency partially mediates the association between course development satisfaction and self-reported psychological adjustment (indirect effect = 0.124) — related
• AI proficiency is positively associated with self-reported psychological adjustment after controlling for course development satisfaction — related
• Course development satisfaction and AI proficiency add incremental explained variance beyond demographics, with the largest contribution to academic adjustment (R2 = 0.240) — related
• First-year students report coexisting high approval of AI-enabled courses and high self-reported psychological strain, with strain indicators endorsed by more than two-thirds of the sample — related
• Course development satisfaction is positively associated with first-year students' emotional management, stress coping, and academic adjustment in cross-sectional self-report data — related