{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T16:08:35Z","timestamp":1787846915339,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]],"date-time":"2026-03-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773014400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100022230","name":"Deanship of Scientific Research, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100022230","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychiatry"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Exam anxiety is a multidimensional construct combining physiological reactions and affective responses that can hinder academic performance. Academic stress reflects students\u2019 perceived pressure related to workload, deadlines, and self-evaluation. Achievement motivation refers to students\u2019 drive to attain optimal performance. This study evaluated academic anxiety, perceived stress, and achievement motivation before and after examinations and examined whether artificial intelligence can effectively assess students\u2019 psychological states.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A cross-sectional, repeated-measures design was used. Academic institution students completed an online questionnaire assessing exam anxiety, perceived academic stress, and achievement motivation before and after examinations. Data were analysed using SPSS for statistical modelling. In parallel, a fuzzy logic system (FLS) was developed to model students\u2019 psychological states and estimate exam anxiety and achievement motivation in relation to perceived stress. Outputs from SPSS and FLS were compared to evaluate concordance.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>SPSS analysis showed a significant interaction between perceived stress and achievement motivation prior to examinations (b = 0.02, 95% CI: 0.01\u20130.02, p &amp;lt; 0.001). This moderating effect was not observed after examinations (b = 0.00, 95% CI: \u22120.01\u20130.01, p = 0.554). The FLS results were consistent with conventional statistical findings, demonstrating strong agreement in identifying levels of exam anxiety and the role of achievement motivation before exams.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Achievement motivation moderates the relationship between perceived stress and exam anxiety only in the pre-examination period, highlighting the temporal nature of this interaction. The alignment between SPSS and FLS outcomes suggests that artificial intelligence, particularly fuzzy logic systems, can efficiently evaluate students\u2019 academic exam anxiety. These findings support the potential use of AI-based tools for psychological state assessment in educational settings, especially for early identification of students at risk of heightened exam anxiety.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2026.1686106","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]],"date-time":"2026-03-09T06:47:33Z","timestamp":1773038853000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Utilizing artificial intelligence to assess academic exam anxiety, perceived stress, and achievement motivation among college students"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Zuhal Y.","family":"Hamd","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiological Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zamzam A.","family":"Mohmed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nouf","family":"Alroqaiba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sherine Mohamed","family":"Elzagawy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hala Abd Ellatif","family":"Elsayed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maha Mahmoud","family":"Lashin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maha","family":"Aldera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Communication Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Amal I.","family":"Alorainy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiological Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.paid.2017.02.006","article-title":"Examining associations among achievement motivation, locus of control, academic stress, and life satisfaction: a comparison of US and international undergraduate students","volume":"111","author":"Karaman","year":"2017","journal-title":"Pers Individ Differ"},{"key":"B2","first-page":"35","article-title":"Academic stress in relation to emotional stability of adolescent students","volume":"4","author":"Kaur","year":"2016","journal-title":"Int J Soc Sci Manage"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.paid.2021.111363","article-title":"Relationship between mindfulness, depression, anxiety and stress: mediating role of self-efficacy, Personal","volume":"186","author":"Sharma","year":"2022","journal-title":"Individ Differ"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1037\/11144-000","volume-title":"The Achievement Motive","author":"McClelland","year":"1953"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tate.2014.01.005","article-title":"Teacher practice in secondary vocational education: Between teacher-regulated activities of student learning and student self-regulation","volume":"40","author":"Van Beek","year":"2014","journal-title":"Teach Teacher Educ"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/bjep.12590","article-title":"The importance of perceived quality of instruction, achievement motivation and difficulties in self-regulation for students who drop out of university","volume":"93","author":"Wild","year":"2023","journal-title":"Br J Educ Psychol."},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1029864917704016","article-title":"Age trends in musical preferences in adulthood: 2. 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