Artificial Intelligence-Supported Education, Student Stress, and Academic Performance: Examining the Moderating Role of Coping Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly transforming higher education by providing students with personalized learning support, rapid access to information, and assistance with academic tasks, while simultaneously creating new academic and psychological demands. The present study examined Artificial Intelligence-Supported Education, student stress, and academic performance, with particular emphasis on the moderating role of coping self-efficacy among university students in Punjab and Sindh, Pakistan. A quantitative, cross-sectional research design was used, and data were collected from 423 university students through a structured, adopted questionnaire administered online using Google Forms. The questionnaire measured Artificial Intelligence-Supported Education, student stress, academic performance, and coping self-efficacy using established measurement scales. The collected responses were initially organized in Microsoft Excel and subsequently analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics. Descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha reliability analysis, Pearson correlation, regression analysis, and moderation analysis were conducted to examine the proposed relationships among the study variables. The findings demonstrated that Artificial Intelligence-Supported Education was significantly associated with student stress and positively predicted academic performance. The moderation findings further showed that coping self-efficacy significantly influenced these relationships by weakening the association between AI-supported education and student stress while strengthening the positive association between AI-supported education and academic performance. The study is significant because it provides an integrated understanding of the educational and psychological consequences of AI-supported learning and highlights the importance of students’ coping resources in determining how they respond to AI-enabled educational environments. The findings suggest that higher education institutions should combine AI integration with responsible-use guidance, psychological support, and coping-skills development to maximize educational benefits while reducing potential student stress.