THE ROLE OF LITERACY AND ATTITUDE IN NURSING STUDENTS' ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ANXIETY

This study was conducted to investigate the role of nursing students' artificial intelligence (AI) literacy and attitudes toward AI in their anxiety about AI. This cross-sectional study was completed with the participation of 444 nursing students at a university. Data were collected using the Student Information Form, Artificial Intelligence Literacy Scale, General Attitude Toward Artificial Intelligence Scale, and Artificial Intelligence Anxiety Scale. The data obtained were analysed using the SPSS 25 statistical programme. According to the research findings, a significant and negative relationship was found between nursing students' AI anxiety and AI literacy. This indicates that individuals with high AI literacy experience less anxiety related to AI. In addition, negative relationships were found between AI anxiety and both positive and negative attitudes towards AI. According to the results of the regression analysis, when AI literacy and positive and negative attitudes are considered together, they explain 35% of the total variance in AI anxiety at a significant level. This reveals that students' knowledge levels and cognitive/attitudinal approaches have a significant effect on anxiety. AI literacy and attitudes towards AI significantly predict AI anxiety. Furthermore, as AI literacy and positive attitudes toward AI increase, AI anxiety decreases, but as negative attitudes toward AI increase, anxiety levels decrease. The integration of AI into education may improve students' knowledge while alleviating their anxiety.