A Study on the Formation Mechanism and Psychological Structure of AI Emotional Dependence among Vocational High School Students

A Study on the Formation Mechanism and Psychological Structure of AI Emotional Dependence among Vocational High School Students | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article A Study on the Formation Mechanism and Psychological Structure of AI Emotional Dependence among Vocational High School Students Kai-Chao Yao, Sumei Chiang, Fang-Chen Yen, Wun-Jin Lin This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9155865/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study investigates emotional dependency on generative artificial intelligence among vocational high school (VHS) students. In alignment with Taiwan’s 108 Curriculum Guidelines, an interactive “Health and Nursing” module addressing AI reliance was implemented. The sample comprised 1000 students from five VHSs in central Taiwan (October–December 2025). Data were collected through questionnaires and classroom feedback to assess AI interaction frequency, emotional projection, and perceived effects on relationships and psychological needs. Analyses were conducted using SPSS 22.0 and SmartPLS 4. Results indicate that some students developed moderate to high emotional attachment to AI, particularly for support and stress relief, accompanied by blurred ethical boundaries. This study finds that VHS students’ AI dependence is not as severe as commonly assumed. The study conceptualizes AI emotional dependence as a low‑intensity, cognitively mediated, developmentally emergent psychological alignment. Emotional dependency Interactive learning AI literacy Education vocational high school PLS Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 10 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 04 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 24 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 21 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 20 Apr, 2026 Editor invited by journal 25 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 25 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 25 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9155865","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":631441019,"identity":"7853bb42-dc96-404c-a4fb-4d18f1380315","order_by":0,"name":"Kai-Chao Yao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"National Changhua University of Education","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kai-Chao","middleName":"","lastName":"Yao","suffix":""},{"id":631441020,"identity":"3536ca6e-a528-47d0-b93b-a327e884e355","order_by":1,"name":"Sumei Chiang","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA9klEQVRIie3RMWvCQBTA8VceXJYHWU8szVd4ElBL/TApwk0X0F1UEHRzvs2v0C7OQmgmP0D2gEOnQKBLi3px6pSkW8H7Dwd33A/ucQAu1z/MD/IDFzxCADzYvXxsJJ2liqZmojwAEVWEGgkvNZdUJD4AcXXQgkD6+m4Yu4HR5Wc2GxJ4ycdbHRk8rBI7iwg5i/cvOrUPI6WyOvK8EqpnmMYs432ohSWS+rWEUxp8E8vFzuhTqM9tyJE4JGaETGMer1uQjhGRfViEfDz1Md5KEk2z+BLtV/5cMNiM81J/zZ98L0lrye+EvK1tr1dh8ZfbLpfLdT9dAeJ3R1AqHgIFAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"National Changhua University of Education","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sumei","middleName":"","lastName":"Chiang","suffix":""},{"id":631441023,"identity":"7709aedf-3389-4269-a793-d34b2becd08f","order_by":2,"name":"Fang-Chen Yen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Student, National Chung Hsing Senior High School","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Fang-Chen","middleName":"","lastName":"Yen","suffix":""},{"id":631441024,"identity":"79e92a00-1118-405e-ac46-ec8f38278336","order_by":3,"name":"Wun-Jin Lin","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Chang Gung University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Wun-Jin","middleName":"","lastName":"Lin","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-18 07:23:18","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9155865/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9155865/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108491984,"identity":"b7532c3c-b2ec-45d2-94b5-b2025d3db750","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-05 09:56:31","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":815088,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"AStudyontheFormationMechanismandPsychologicalStructureofAIEmotionalDependence.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9155865/v1_covered_e949e970-3ad4-4ef4-a42d-191ab148f267.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"A Study on the Formation Mechanism and Psychological Structure of AI Emotional Dependence among Vocational High School Students","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-psychology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"psyo","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Psychology](http://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"BMC Psychology","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Emotional dependency, Interactive learning, AI literacy Education, vocational high school, PLS","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9155865/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9155865/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study investigates emotional dependency on generative artificial intelligence among vocational high school (VHS) students. In alignment with Taiwan\u0026rsquo;s 108 Curriculum Guidelines, an interactive \u0026ldquo;Health and Nursing\u0026rdquo; module addressing AI reliance was implemented. The sample comprised 1000 students from five VHSs in central Taiwan (October\u0026ndash;December 2025). Data were collected through questionnaires and classroom feedback to assess AI interaction frequency, emotional projection, and perceived effects on relationships and psychological needs. Analyses were conducted using SPSS 22.0 and SmartPLS 4. Results indicate that some students developed moderate to high emotional attachment to AI, particularly for support and stress relief, accompanied by blurred ethical boundaries. This study finds that VHS students\u0026rsquo; AI dependence is not as severe as commonly assumed. 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