Cross-Sectional Study Links Critical Thinking to Technostress in Peruvian Students

A cross-sectional study of 340 Peruvian university students found that critical thinking was not directly associated with lower technostress, but it was indirectly and positively associated with technology-related stress through AI-related academic self-efficacy. Students reporting greater critical-thinking dispositions also reported greater confidence in handling AI-related academic demands. That confidence, in turn, was associated with higher technostress scores. The findings concern associations measured at one point in time and do not establish that critical thinking, AI-related self-efficacy or technostress causes changes in the others.

Researchers used partial least squares structural equation modeling to examine the relationships among the three constructs. Critical thinking was measured with Yoon’s Critical Thinking Disposition Scale, AI-related academic self-efficacy with the General Self-Efficacy Scale adapted for artificial intelligence, and technostress with the RED-Technostress scale. The researchers administered 26 critical-thinking items, six AI-efficacy items and 22 technostress items, then retained 13, six and 17 items, respectively, after assessment of the reflective measurement model. The analysis estimated both direct and indirect paths linking critical thinking, AI-related academic self-efficacy and technostress.

The direct association between critical thinking and technostress was not statistically significant, with a standardized path coefficient of β = −0.071 and p = 0.444. By contrast, critical thinking had a positive association with AI-related academic self-efficacy, with β = 0.403 and p < 0.001. AI-related academic self-efficacy was also positively associated with technostress, with β = 0.258 and p < 0.001. The resulting indirect association from critical thinking to technostress through AI-related academic self-efficacy was significant and positive, with β = 0.104 and p < 0.001. The model accounted for 16.2% of the variance in AI-related academic self-efficacy and 5.6% of the variance in technostress.

The direction of the indirect pathway differs from a simple protective interpretation of critical thinking. The authors suggest that students with greater confidence in their ability to handle AI-related academic tasks may engage more with AI-mediated work and therefore encounter more technology-related demands. That explanation is an interpretation of the model rather than a demonstrated mechanism: the study did not directly measure engagement, exposure to AI tools or the specific demands responsible for the association. Its cross-sectional design and reliance on self-report also leave the temporal order of the variables unresolved. Accordingly, the results support an observed statistical relationship among the measured constructs, not a claim that stronger critical thinking produces greater AI confidence, that greater AI confidence increases technostress, or that reducing either factor would reduce stress.

Subject of Research: Associations among critical thinking, AI-related academic self-efficacy and technostress in Peruvian university students

Article Title: Critical thinking and technostress among university students: the mediating role of AI-related academic self-efficacy

Article References: Reyes-Perez, M. D., Carreño-Saucedo, L., Sanchez-Levano, M. J., Lozada-Miranda, M. A., Monje-Yovera, P. F., Martínez-Castro, E. L., Cabanillas-Palomino, R., & Calonge -De la Piedra, D. M. (2026). Critical thinking and technostress among university students: the mediating role of AI-related academic self-efficacy. BMC Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-026-05348-x

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s40359-026-05348-x

Keywords: critical thinking, technostress, AI-related self-efficacy, university students, Peru, higher education, cross-sectional study, structural equation modeling, self-report, mediation analysis, Critical, thinking