Cyberpsychology: Validity of the AI Chatbots Usage Scale for University Students

This study developed and validated the AI Chatbots Usage Scale for assessing university students' engagement with artificial intelligence chatbots in higher education. The research employed a quantitative methodology with 374 male undergraduate students from Al-Azhar university. Through rigorous psychometric analysis, including exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, a four-factor structure emerged: Ease of Use, Perceived Usefulness, Trust, and Accessibility. The scale demonstrated excellent reliability (McDonald's ω = .911, Cronbach's α = .911) and strong construct validity, supported by good model fit indices ( CMIN/DF  = 1.622, CFI  = .940, RMSEA  = .041). Factor analysis revealed that the four dimensions collectively explained 47.360% of the total variance, with factor loadings ranging from .519 to .729. The final 27-item scale showed robust internal consistency across all factors, with the highest mean scores observed in Ease of Use ( M  = 29.07, SD  = 6.02) and the strongest correlation between Trust and Perceived Usefulness (.899). These findings provide educators and researchers with a validated instrument for measuring AI chatbot usage in academic settings, while offering insights for improving implementation strategies in higher education. The scale's psychometric properties support its utility for evaluating and enhancing AI chatbot integration in educational contexts.