The Unique Contribution of Digital Maturity in the AI Era: Psychometric Validation, Predictive Ability and Latent Profile Analysis among Chinese Primary Students

With the widespread use of digital technologies, it has become increasingly important to understand how children adapt to digital environments. However, limited research has examined digital maturity among children beyond digital access and familiarity with technologies, particularly in non-Western contexts. Building on recent work on digital maturity, the present study aimed to validate the Digital Maturity Inventory (DIMI) among Chinese primary school students and to identify their latent profiles. A sample of 434 students (221 girls; Meanage = 10.68, SD = 0.86) completed the DIMI for validation analyses, and an additional sample was simultaneously recruited, resulting in a total sample of 1026 students (500 girls; Meanage = 10.38, SD = 1.09), for latent profile analysis. The findings demonstrated that the DIMI exhibited satisfactory psychometric properties in the Chinese context. Moreover, digital maturity, in addition to digital native, emerged as a unique and significant predictor of artificial intelligence (AI) literacy. Three distinct subgroups of students with heterogeneous patterns of digital maturity were also revealed: an unbalanced low group, an inconsistent medium group, and a relatively high group. These findings not only support the cross-cultural applicability of DIMI, but also demonstrate its relevance to children’s AI-related competencies. The implications of this study were also discussed.