Generative AI and Academic Well-Being of Senior Secondary Students: An Integrative Review

Abstract

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) chatbots such as ChatGPT have rapidly entered students’ schoolwork, yet their consequences for academic well-being remain unclear, and most evidence comes from university students. This integrative review examines the relationship between GenAI use and the academic well-being of secondary school students, with particular attention to the senior secondary years, when students face high-stakes examinations while their capacity for self-regulation is still developing. Peer-reviewed empirical studies published between 2023 and 2026 were identified through academic database and web searches. Eight school-level studies met the inclusion criteria, and four university studies and one scoping review provided contextual evidence on mechanisms. The evidence was synthesised thematically through self-determination theory, self-efficacy theory and research on cognitive offloading. GenAI use rose steeply with age and served both as learning support and as a shortcut. Guided, pedagogically designed use was associated with greater engagement, motivation and interest and with lower learning anxiety, whereas ChatGPT-assisted learning in one high school quasi-experiment was associated with lower flow and self-efficacy. University studies linked heavy use with procrastination, reduced self-control and lower academic well-being. Self-regulatory capacity, teacher guidance, task meaningfulness and academic pressure appeared to determine which pattern predominated. No peer-reviewed study from India was found. The review proposes a two-pathway model, supportive and substitutive, and argues that schools should structure GenAI use through guided tasks, AI literacy and teacher preparation, consistent with the emphasis of India’s National Education Policy 2020 on holistic development.