Investigating Artificial Intelligence Anxiety among University Students in Northern Cyprus

Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology Vol.7 Issue.4

Doi:10.35365/ctjpp.25.4.03

RESEARCH ARTICLE / ARAŞTIRMA YAZISI

Investigating Artificial Intelligence Anxiety among University Students in Northern Cyprus

Kuzey Kıbrıs’taki Üniversite Öğrencileri Arasında Yapay Zekâ Kaygısının Araştırılması

Nuriye Sancar¹, Olusegun Emmanuel Adeshina², Nadire Çavuş³

Abstract:

Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into daily life is becoming widespread in various sectors, especially education, and this increases concerns about artificial intelligence among university students. The current study aims to investigate AI anxiety among university students in northern Cyprus in terms of how prevalent or varied it is according to selected demographic and experiential factors. AI anxiety scale was used to measure students’ anxiety along four dimensions: Learning, AI Configuration, Job Replacement, and Sociotechnical Blindness. Data (n=395) were collected from university students in Northern Cyprus and analyzed using Mann-Whitney U tests and Kruskal-Wallis H tests. Findings show that students experienced the highest anxiety at job replacement (Mean = 3.42, SD = 0.82) and the lowest at learning (Mean = 2.91, SD = 1.06). Non-STEM students experienced significantly higher levels of AI anxiety than their STEM students (p <0.001), while females exhibited higher levels than males (p <0.001). Additionally, students with over five hours of use of the technology per day demonstrated the highest anxiety levels (p = 0.013). Age differences were significant, too, with the highest level of anxiety toward AI reported among 21–23-year-old students (p = 0.014). Based on these results, awareness-raising activities and guidance services regarding the use of artificial intelligence can help students better understand this technology and manage their anxiety. In addition, to reduce the AI ​​anxiety experienced by students during this technological transformation process, it will be useful to develop strategies suitable for the needs of different demographic and academic groups and organize awareness-raising and training programs.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Anxiety, University, Students, Northern Cyprus.

¹Assoc. Prof. Dr, Near East University, Faculty of Arts and Science, Department of Mathematics, TRN Cyprus, Nicosia, E-mail: [email protected], Orcid Id: 0000-0002-4276-4653

²PhD. Candidate, Near East University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Computer Information Systems, TRN Cyprus, Nicosia, E-mail: [email protected], Orcid Id: 0009-0007-0295-7251

³Prof. Dr., Near East University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Computer Information Systems, TRN Cyprus, Nicosia, E-mail: [email protected], Orcid Id: 0000-0001-7470-7752

Address of Correspondence/Yazışma Adresi: Nuriye Sancar, Near East University, Faculty of Arts and Science, Department of Mathematics, Nicosia, TRN Cyprus, E-mail: [email protected].

Date of Received/Geliş Tarihi: 12.03.2025, Date of Revision/Düzeltme Tarihi: 20.05.2025, Date of Acceptance/Kabul Tarihi: 23.05.2025, Date of Online Publication/Çevirimiçi Yayın Tarihi: 15.12.2025

Citing/Referans Gösterimi: Sancar, N., Adeshina, O. E. & Çavuş, N. (2025). Investigating Artificial Intelligence Anxiety among University Students in Northern Cyprus. Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology, 7(4), 357-363.

© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Cyprus Mental Health Institute / Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry and Psychology (www.ktppdergisi.com). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/