The relationship between perceived AI replacement threat and employment anxiety among English-major undergraduates: the mediating role of career insecurity and the moderating role of career decision-making self-efficacy

Background Concerns over possible employment displacement among undergraduates majoring in English have been raised by the growing use of artificial intelligence in writing, translation, and language services. However, limited research has examined the association between perceived AI replacement threat (PAIRT) and employment anxiety among English-major undergraduates or the roles of career insecurity and career decision-making self-efficacy (CDMSE). Methods This cross-sectional study surveyed 711 Chinese English-major undergraduates recruited through convenience sampling. After controlling for gender and grade level, AMOS and PROCESS Model 7 with 5,000 bootstrap resamples were used to examine the indirect and conditional indirect associations. Results PAIRT was positively associated with both career insecurity and employment anxiety. A significant indirect association between PAIRT and employment anxiety through career insecurity was observed, accounting for 48.29% of the estimated total effect. CDMSE significantly moderated the association between PAIRT and career insecurity, with this positive association becoming weaker at higher levels of CDMSE. The conditional indirect association through career insecurity was smaller at higher levels of CDMSE, and the index of moderated mediation was significant. Sensitivity analyses excluding the career replaceability items from employment anxiety produced substantively consistent results. Discussion These findings extend understanding of employment anxiety among English-major undergraduates in the context of AI.