AI awareness and work stress among university teachers: The moderating roles of digital literacy and perceived organizational support

Manjing Zhou and Ninggui Duan

African Educational Research Journal
Published: October 22 2026
Volume 14, Issue 4
Pages 845-859
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23565646

Abstract

As artificial intelligence (AI) gradually enters the teaching and research contexts of higher education institutions, university teachers’ different perceptions of AI may elicit different psychological responses. Drawing on the Job Demands–Resources model, this study examines the effects of AI Challenge Awareness and AI Threat Awareness on university teachers’ Work Stress, and further analyzes the moderating roles of Digital Literacy and Perceived Organizational Support. Using university teachers as the research subjects, 421 valid samples were obtained through a questionnaire survey, and hierarchical regression analysis was employed to test the research hypotheses. The results indicate that AI Challenge Awareness is significantly and negatively correlated with university teachers’ Work Stress, whereas AI Threat Awareness is significantly and positively correlated with Work Stress. Both Digital Literacy and Perceived Organizational Support significantly weaken the positive effect of AI Threat Awareness on Work Stress, but neither of their moderating effects on the relationship between AI Challenge Awareness and Work Stress reaches a significant level. The findings suggest that university teachers’ perceptions of AI do not merely manifest as a source of stress; rather, their effects depend on individuals’ different interpretations of the work-related changes brought about by AI. Compared with challenge-oriented perceptions, threat-oriented perceptions are more readily transformed into Work Stress, while Digital Literacy and Perceived Organizational Support can, to a certain extent, buffer the stress induced by threat-oriented perceptions. The conclusions of this study help to deepen the understanding of individual differences in university teachers’ psychological responses in the context of AI, and provide references for higher education institutions to optimize the AI application environment and improve teacher support measures.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence, AI challenge awareness, AI threat awareness, work stress, digital literacy, perceived organizational support.

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