The Effect of Artificial Intelligence Attitudes on Social Work Students in Türkiye

Abstract This study examines how social work students in Türkiye perceive artificial intelligence (AI), including how their attitudes vary by demographic factors and relate to AI’s perceived usefulness across key social work domains. The study employed a survey methodology and was conducted with 440 social work students from various universities in Türkiye. Data were collected through an online questionnaire that included items measuring students’ sociodemographic information, the General Attitudes towards Artificial Intelligence Scale, and researcher-developed questions regarding the impact of AI on social work practices. Descriptive statistics, independent t tests, one-way analyses of variance, and multiple regression analyses were used to analyze differences between variables. The results indicate that attitudes toward AI differ significantly by gender, academic performance, age, and income. Students with more positive attitudes were also more likely to view AI as beneficial in addressing economic, sociocultural, and personal needs in social work. Regression analyses highlighted how these attitudes are shaped by the interaction of multiple demographic factors. Future research should further explore the integration of AI into social work education, its alignment with professional ethics, and its long-term effects in practice to assess social work students’ and professionals’ AI-related skills and attitudes more comprehensively.