Supplementary file 1_Perceived AI empowerment and threat in relation to university students' dependence on GenAI: the indirect role of trust in AI.docx

Drawing on cognitive appraisal theory and trust theory, this study proposed a dual-appraisal model to examine how perceived AI empowerment and perceived AI threat are associated with university students' dependence on GenAI, both directly and indirectly through trust in AI.</p>Methods<p>A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 360 university students in China who had prior experience using GenAI.

The measurement model and hypothesized structural relations were examined using SPSS 24.0 and Mplus 8.3. Indirect associations were evaluated using bootstrap confidence intervals based on 5,000 resamples.</p>Results<p>Perceived AI empowerment was positively associated with trust in AI and dependence on GenAI, whereas perceived AI threat was negatively associated with both variables. Trust in AI was positively associated with GenAI dependence and statistically accounted for part of the associations between both cognitive appraisals and dependence.