Resilience and smoking curiosity among Chinese late adolescents: the mediating role of sensation seeking and the moderating roles of gender and smoking status

Background Tobacco use poses a serious health burden in China, and its prevalence among adolescents warrants particular attention. Curiosity about smoking may be an early cognitive indicator associated with subsequent smoking susceptibility and initiation. However, previous research has insufficiently addressed the role of individual internal psychological traits in developing smoking curiosity. This study aimed to explore the relationship between adolescent resilience and smoking curiosity among late adolescents, examine the mediating role of sensation seeking, and investigate the moderating effects of gender and smoking status. Methods This study employed a cross-sectional survey design using correlational data analysis techniques with convenience sampling. A total of 3,484 university students aged 17–19 years completed the Resilience Scale for Chinese Adolescents, the Adolescent Smoking Curiosity Scale, and the Sensation Seeking Scale for Adolescents. Model 4 of the SPSS macro program PROCESS was used to test the mediating effect of sensation seeking, and Model 21 was employed to examine the moderating effects of smoking status and gender. Results Adolescent resilience showed a weak positive correlation with smoking curiosity (r = 0.076, p < 0.001). Psychological resilience significantly negatively predicted sensation seeking, and sensation seeking had a significant negative predictive effect on smoking curiosity. Gender exerted a negative moderating effect on the first half of the mediation model—the path from resilience to sensation seeking; smoking status exerted a positive moderating effect on the second half of the mediation model—the path from sensation seeking to smoking curiosity. Conclusion Resilience was indirectly associated smoking curiosity through sensation seeking among adolescents. Specifically, higher resilience was associated with lower sensation seeking, which was negatively associated with smoking curiosity in the adjusted mediation model. Although the indirect pathway was statistically significant, the direct association between resilience and smoking curiosity was negligible.