Research Article

The Impact of AI Social Presence on College Students' Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Relatedness Need Satisfaction and the Moderating Role of Offline Social Support

Rongyue Shi 1, Chengjin Gao 1 * , Dan Wu 1, Tianfang Wang 1, Quan Han 1
More Detail
1 Changzhou College of Information Technology, Changzhou 213164, China* Corresponding Author
International Journal of Social Sciences and Artistic Innovations, 6(3), September 2026, 1-12, https://doi.org/10.35745/ijssai2026v06.03.0011
Submitted: 03 April 2026, Published: 29 September 2026
OPEN ACCESS   2 Views   1 Downloads
Download Full Text (PDF)

ABSTRACT

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), socially responsive AI systems are increasingly embedded in students' learning and daily life contexts, raising important questions about their associations with college students' psychological well-being. This study examined whether AI social presence was associated with loneliness and life satisfaction through relatedness need satisfaction and whether offline social support moderated this process. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 536 Chinese college students, and the data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicated that AI social presence was positively associated with relatedness need satisfaction, which was in turn associated with higher life satisfaction and lower loneliness. In addition, offline social support strengthened the positive association between AI social presence and relatedness need satisfaction. These findings suggest that AI interactions characterized by higher social presence may serve as a supplementary source of perceived social connection for some students, particularly when embedded within stronger real-world support systems. Given the cross-sectional design, all findings should be interpreted as correlational rather than causal. This study extends research on AI-mediated social interaction and well-being and provides practical implications for mental health education in higher education and the design of socially responsive AI systems.
Keywords: AI social presence, Relatedness need satisfaction, Life satisfaction, Loneliness, Offline social support

CITATION (APA)

Shi, R., Gao, C., Wu, D., Wang, T., & Han, Q. (2026). The Impact of AI Social Presence on College Students' Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Relatedness Need Satisfaction and the Moderating Role of Offline Social Support. International Journal of Social Sciences and Artistic Innovations, 6(3), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.35745/ijssai2026v06.03.0011

REFERENCES

  1. Banks, J., de Graaf, M., & Westerman, D. (2021). Friendship through the lens of pareidolia: User perceptions of human–robot social interactions. Computers in Human Behavior, 115, 106593. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106593
  2. Biocca, F., & Harms, C. (2002). Defining and measuring social presence: Contribution to the Networked Minds theory and measure. In Proceedings of the Fifth Annual International Workshop on Presence (pp. 7–36). Porto, Portugal: Universidade Fernando Pessoa Press.
  3. Cacioppo, J. T., & Hawkley, L. C. (2009). Perceived social isolation and cognition. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 13, 447–454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2009.06.005
  4. Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98, 310–357. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.98.2.310
  5. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 227–268. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01
  6. Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71–75. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13
  7. Fang, C. M., Liu, A. R., Danry, V., Lee, E., Chan, S. W. T., Pataranutaporn, P., Maes, P., Phang, J., Lampe, M., Ahmad, L., & Agarwal, S. (2025). How AI and human behaviors shape psychosocial effects of extended chatbot use: A longitudinal randomized controlled study. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2503.17473
  8. De Freitas, J., Oğuz-Uğuralp, Z., Uğuralp, A. K., & Puntoni, S. (2025). AI companions reduce loneliness. Journal of Consumer Research, 52(6), 1126-1148. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucaf040
  9. Hair, J. F., Risher, J. J., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Business Review, 31, 2–24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203
  10. Lee, K. M., & Nass, C. (2003). Designing social presence of social actors in human computer interaction. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 289–296). Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA. https://doi.org/10.1145/642611.642662
  11. Merrill, K., Mikkilineni, S. D., & Dehnert, M. (2025). Artificial intelligence chatbots as a source of virtual social support: Implications for loneliness and anxiety management. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1549(1), 148–159. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.15400
  12. Nowak, K. L., & Fox, J. (2018). Avatars and computer-mediated communication: A review of the definitions, uses, and effects of digital representations. Review of Communication Research, 6, 30–53. https://doi.org/10.12840/issn.2255-4165.2018.06.01.015
  13. Reis, H. T., Sheldon, K. M., Gable, S. L., Roscoe, J., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). Daily well-being: The role of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26, 419–435. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167200266002
  14. Russell, D., Peplau, L. A., & Cutrona, C. E. (1980). The revised UCLA loneliness scale: Concurrent and discriminant validity evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 472–480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.39.3.472
  15. Short, J., Williams, E., & Christie, B. (1976). The social psychology of telecommunications. London, UK: John Wiley & Sons.
  16. Zhang, Y., Zhao, D., Hancock, J. T., Kraut, R., & Yang, D. (2025). The rise of AI companions: How human-chatbot relationships influence well-being. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2506.12605
  17. Zimet, G. D., Dahlem, N. W., Zimet, S. G., & Farley, G. K. (1988). The multidimensional scale of perceived social support. Journal of Personality Assessment, 52, 30–41. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa5201_2