Perceived career impacts of artificial intelligence and career decision-making self-efficacy among Chinese college students: the mediating roles of career planning and career anxiety

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping labor market structures and transforming how college students perceive their future career development. Understanding the psychological processes associated with the relationships between perceptions of AI and career-related outcomes has therefore become increasingly important. Drawing on Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), this study examined the relationships between perceived career impacts of AI and career decision-making self-efficacy among college students, with particular attention to the indirect roles of career planning and career anxiety. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 415 Chinese college students, and the proposed hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. The results showed that positive perceived career impacts of AI were positively associated with career decision-making self-efficacy, with career planning representing an indirect pathway in this relationship. In contrast, negative perceived career impacts of AI were not directly associated with career decision-making self-efficacy but were indirectly associated with lower self-efficacy through an indirect association involving career anxiety. These findings indicate that college students' perceptions of AI are associated with career decision-making self-efficacy through distinct cognitive and affective processes. The study provides empirical support for the applicability of SCCT in understanding career development in the context of AI and enriches the literature on the relationships between AI-related career perceptions and students' career decision-making processes.