AI Dependency Linked to Student Anxiety and Digital Stress in Network Study

A network analysis of 521 university students found that dependency on artificial intelligence occupied a central position in a psychological system involving anxiety, digital stress and quality of life. AI dependency was strongly associated with factors including digital vigilance and fear of missing out, while anxiety connected cognitive reliance with environmental pressures, according to the study published in BMC Psychology.

The research took place at King Abdulaziz University, where most participants were undergraduates and 80% were women. Participants were recruited through snowball sampling, and the investigators used self-administered standardized instruments to assess AI dependency, AI-related general anxiety, digital stress and quality of life. The analysis considered a wider set of cognitive, motivational and contextual factors: cognitive offloading, availability pressure, fear of missing out, digital overload, digital vigilance and social acceptance anxiety.

Network analysis was used to examine the interrelations among these measures and identify central variables and conditional interactions within the system. AI dependency emerged as a central node, showing strong conditional associations with digital stressors such as digital vigilance and fear of missing out. Anxiety also occupied a bridging position, linking cognitive reliance to environmental pressures. The study reports that these patterns of association were related to reduced quality of life.

Social acceptance anxiety had a distinct role in the model, translating cognitive pressures into relational and identity concerns. The analysis also identified non-linear, conditional associations, indicating that the psychological structure of AI reliance involved cognitive, motivational and contextual factors rather than direct usage intensity alone. These are statistical relationships within the network; they do not establish that AI dependency caused anxiety, digital stress or lower quality of life.

The authors characterized AI dependency as a complex cognitive–motivational construct that extends beyond the amount of AI use. They noted that reliance can have potential advantages, including reduced cognitive load and increased efficiency, but can also be associated with diminished autonomy, heightened anxiety and long-term digital strain. The results provide a culturally contextualized model for understanding how AI dependency may relate to student well-being, although the evidence comes from one university and should not automatically be extended to other institutions, populations or cultural settings. The use of self-reported measures, snowball sampling and a sample that was predominantly female and undergraduate also limits the conclusions that can be drawn from the study.

Subject of Research: Network analysis of AI dependency, anxiety, digital stress and quality of life among university students

Article Title: AI dependency and its relationships with anxiety, quality of life, and digital stress

Article References: Elsayed, F. K., Al-Mutairi, J. F., & Moussa, M. A. (2026). AI dependency and its relationships with anxiety, quality of life, and digital stress. BMC Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-026-05496-0

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s40359-026-05496-0

Keywords: AI dependency, artificial intelligence, student anxiety, digital stress, quality of life, network analysis, cognitive offloading, fear of missing out, university students, digital vigilance, dependency, relationships