GenAI dependency and psychological distress among Chinese university students: a cross-sectional examination of the serial mediating roles of fear of missing out and derailment

As generative AI (GenAI) becomes increasingly embedded in higher education, concerns are growing about students’ dependency on these tools and its psychological correlates. This study examined the association between GenAI dependency and psychological distress among Chinese university students, tested the serial mediating roles of fear of missing out (FoMO) and derailment, and explored whether these pathways differed across cognitive–behavioral, functional, and emotional dependency. A convenience sample of 525 Chinese university students completed measures of GenAI dependency, FoMO, derailment, and psychological distress, including depression, anxiety, and stress. Structural equation modeling and bias-corrected percentile bootstrap analyses showed that GenAI dependency was positively associated with psychological distress. FoMO and derailment each showed significant mediating effects, and their serial mediation was also significant. Dimension-specific analyses indicated that cognitive–behavioral dependency exhibited indirect links to distress through both FoMO and derailment. Functional dependency showed significant specific indirect pathways involving FoMO, although its total indirect effect was not significant. Emotional dependency showed no significant unique mediating pathway in the dimension-specific model. These findings suggest that the association between GenAI dependency and psychological distress may involve both affective–cognitive concerns and disruptions in self-continuity, with cognitive–behavioral dependency representing a particularly salient risk-related pattern.