AI technology threat perception and occupational anxiety: The dual buffering role of skill adaptability and industry support

Based on Conservation of Resources theory and Cognitive Appraisal Theory, this study explored how AI technology threat perception affects occupational anxiety among 387 creative industry professionals, focusing on the dual roles of skill adaptability and industry support. An integrative theoretical model encompassing mediating and moderating mechanisms was constructed and empirically tested. Results indicate that skill adaptability plays a dual role. It mediates the relationship between AI technology threat perception and occupational anxiety, where threat perception indirectly increases anxiety by weakening adaptability. It also positively moderates this relationship, causing highly adaptable individuals to exhibit stronger anxiety when facing AI threats. Meanwhile, industry support exhibits a resource paradox. It directly predicts higher anxiety levels but negatively moderates the threat-anxiety relationship under high threat conditions, acting as a buffer. The empirical testing of this theoretical model reveals that skill adaptability, as a key psychological resource, is complex, and support can sometimes be counterproductive. This enriches the traditional Conservation of Resources theory and provides actionable empirical evidence for future research on complex individual and conditional resources, as well as for implementing differentiated intervention strategies.