AI use and innovation behavior among university students in relation to challenge and threat ...

Download PDF Abstract Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly embedded in higher education, yet its association with students’ innovation behavior may depend on how it is appraised. Drawing on the transactional model of stress and coping, this cross-sectional study tested whether self-reported AI use was indirectly associated with general innovation behavior through challenge and threat appraisals and whether school innovation support moderated the AI use–appraisal associations. Data were obtained from 1144 university students in China. AI use was positively associated with both appraisals. The adjusted indirect association through challenge appraisal was significant, whereas the threat-appraisal indirect association was small and nonsignificant. School innovation support did not moderate either appraisal association, and both indices of moderated mediation were nonsignificant. Thus, only the challenge-appraisal component received robust support. Universities should prioritize AI literacy, discipline-specific guidance, academic integrity, reflective use, and support for AI-related anxiety rather than simply encouraging intensive AI use. Subjects Information systems and information technology Psychology Science, technology and society Acknowledgements The authors gratefully acknowledge the support and assistance of the valuable comments and suggestions provided by colleagues and other scholars on this manuscript. Funding This research is funded by the Key Research Base Project for Humanities and Social Sciences in Jiangxi Higher Education Institutions (Grant No. JD23125). Author information Authors and Affiliations Research Center of Lushan Culture, Jiujiang University, Jiujiang, 332005, China Weijun Huang School of Education Science, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China Linghao Kong School of Law, Jiujiang University, Jiujiang, 332005, China Luhuan Liu School of Music, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, 330022, China Mingyu Tu College of Educational Sciences, Nantong University, No. 9 Seyuan Road, Nantong, 226019, Jiangsu, China Chen Hu Authors Weijun Huang View author publications Search author on: PubMed Google Scholar Linghao Kong View author publications Search author on: PubMed Google Scholar Luhuan Liu View author publications Search author on: PubMed Google Scholar Mingyu Tu View author publications Search author on: PubMed Google Scholar Chen Hu View author publications Search author on: PubMed Google Scholar Corresponding author Correspondence to Chen Hu . Ethics declarations Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics approval and consent to participate This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Jiujiang University (Approval No. jsfz202502) and was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. All participants were provided with an informed consent statement on the cover page of the questionnaire. The objectives of the study and the voluntary nature of participation were explained to participants before they completed the survey, and participation was entirely voluntary and anonymous. Consent for publication Not applicable. Additional information Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Supplementary Information Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material. 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To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ . Reprints and permissions About this article Cite this article Huang, W., Kong, L., Liu, L. et al. AI use and innovation behavior among university students in relation to challenge and threat appraisals . Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-68160-y Download citation Received : 17 May 2026 Accepted : 19 August 2026 Published : 24 August 2026 DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-68160-y Share this article Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Get shareable link Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Copy shareable link to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative Keywords AI use Challenge appraisal Threat appraisal School innovation support Innovation behavior University students