Artificial Intelligence Dependency as a Predictor of Perceived Reading Comprehension Barriers Among Senior High School Students in the Philippines
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69569/jip.2026.446Keywords:
Artificial intelligence dependency, Perceived reading comprehension barriers, Senior high school students, Philippines, SDG 4Abstract
This study examined the relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) dependency and perceived reading comprehension barriers among senior high school students in the Philippines. Although AI tools are increasingly used for academic tasks, empirical evidence on whether dependency is associated with students’ perceived reading-related difficulties remains limited, particularly in the Philippine senior high school context. This study used a quantitative, non-experimental correlational-predictive design with 319 students. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, Pearson’s r, and simple linear regression. AI dependency in reading, writing, and numeracy was moderate (M = 3.20, SD = 0.66). Perceived reading comprehension barriers were also moderate (M = 3.16, SD = 0.78). AI dependency was positively and significantly associated with perceived reading comprehension barriers, r = .58, p < .001. Regression analysis showed that AI dependency significantly predicted perceived barriers, B = 0.68, β = .58, t(317) = 12.68, p < .001, R² = .34, indicating that AI dependency accounted for 33.6% of the variance in the outcome. The finding should not be interpreted causally and does not indicate improved reading performance because no objective comprehension test was administered. The results highlight the need for guided AI use, explicit reading-strategy instruction, and further research using objective comprehension measures and longitudinal or experimental designs.
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