Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between physiotherapy students’ artificial intelligence (AI) awareness and AI-related anxiety levels.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted online using a Google Forms questionnaire. The form included three sections: demographic characteristics and AI/internet use, the AI Awareness Questionnaire, and the AI Anxiety Scale. The relationship between AI awareness and AI anxiety was analyzed using Pearson correlation analysis. In addition, multivariable linear regression analysis was performed to determine whether AI awareness independently predicted AI anxiety after adjusting for age, gender, year of study, daily internet usage, prior AI knowledge, and use of AI-supported applications.
Results: The study included 200 physiotherapy students with a mean age of 22.38 ± 2.23 years; 71.5% were female. The mean AI Awareness Questionnaire score was 91.34 ± 21.37, and the mean AI Anxiety Scale score was 47.78 ± 15.41. A moderate negative correlation was found between AI awareness and AI anxiety levels (r = -0.52, p < .001). Multivariable linear regression analysis showed that AI awareness remained a significant independent predictor of AI anxiety after adjustment for covariates (B = -0.36, 95% CI: -0.45 to -0.27, β = -0.49, p < .001). Gender, year of study, prior knowledge of AI, and use of AI-supported applications were also significantly associated with AI anxiety scores. The model explained 32.8% of the variance in AI anxiety scores.
Conclusion: AI-related anxiety was associated with AI awareness as well as selected demographic, educational, and experiential factors among physiotherapy students. However, due to the cross-sectional design, causal inference cannot be made. Integrating AI-related educational content into undergraduate physiotherapy and rehabilitation curricula may help support students’ professional adaptation to technological developments.

Key words: Anxiety, physiotherapy, technophobia, technology, artificial intelligence