RETHINKING STUDENT WELL-BEING IN THE AGE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

The advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in higher education has transformed
how students learn, access academic support, and seek psychological assistance. However, the
relationship between AI and student well-being continues to yield mixed findings. This study aims
to systematically review the role of AI in student well-being in higher education. A Systematic
Literature Review methodology was employed, guided by the PRISMA framework and the PICOC
structure. Literature searches were conducted across the Scopus, SpringerLink, and ScienceDirect
databases, yielding an initial pool of 325 articles. Following a rigorous process of identification,
deduplication, title and abstract screening, and full-text eligibility assessment, 21 articles met the
inclusion criteria and were subsequently analyzed qualitatively. The findings indicate that AI can
function as a source of academic support, a self-help tool, a medium for reflection, a motivational
reinforcer, a facilitator of emotional regulation, and an instrument for the early detection of
psychological risks among students. Nevertheless, AI also has the potential to generate anxiety
about AI, technological dependency, ethical concerns, algorithmic bias, and disruptions to digital
well-being. These findings underscore the necessity of developing AI in a manner that is humancentered, ethical, transparent, and integrated with human support to ensure its positive contribution
to student well-being.