Journal of Childhood

Introduction
Social interest is one of the central constructs in Adlerian therapy and contemporary social psychology, reflecting an individual’s tendency toward empathy, cooperation, a sense of belonging, and participation in collective life. It plays an essential role in adolescents’ healthy psychosocial development, prosocial behavior, social cohesion, and adjustment. However, social interest does not emerge from a single source; rather, it seems to be shaped by a multilevel interaction of individual and family factors, and broader social conditions. Among adolescents belonging to different ethnic groups, contextual and cultural differences may influence how social interest is formed and expressed. The present study aimed to analyze individual factors (parenting styles, self-efficacy, and basic psychological needs) and social factors (human development indicators) explaining social interest among Iranian adolescents. 

Research Methods
This is a correlational study using multilevel modeling. The study population consisted of adolescents aged 15-17 years from three ethnic groups in Iran: Fars, Turk, and Kurd. A total of 600 adolescents were initially selected, of whom 592 completed questionnaires. The sampling was done using a multi-stage cluster method in Tehran, Tabriz, and Sanandaj, which are the main cities of the three ethnic groups. Data were collected using the Parenting Style Questionnaire developed by Schaefer, the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) developed by Sherer et al., the Social Interest Questionnaire developed by Crandall, and the Basic Psychological Needs Scale (BPNS) developed by Gagné, Deci, and Ryan. In addition, official provincial statistics were used to represent human development indicators, including life expectancy, education, and per capita income. The data were analyzed in SPSS, software, version 23, JASP, version 0.96.0 and AMOS version 24.

Results
The findings showed that self-efficacy did not have a significant direct effect on social interest (P>0.05). In contrast, parenting styles significantly predicted social interest at the 99% confidence level (P<0.05). The affection domain of parenting style was positively associated with social interest (r=0.350, P>0.01), whereas control domain was negatively associated with social interest (r=0.272, P>0.01). Basic psychological needs were near the significance threshold and remained an important explanatory factor in the model (F=3.802, P>0.52). At the social level, differences in human development indicators across ethnic groups were significant (P<0.05). 
The multilevel analysis further showed that the interaction effect of self-efficacy and the human development index (P<0.01) and interaction effect of parenting style and human development index (P<0.01) on social interest were significant. However, the interaction effect of basic psychological needs and human development index was not significant. Overall, the final model demonstrated acceptable fit and supported the multilevel nature of social interest .

Conclusion
The results suggest that social interest among Iranian adolescents is a multilevel phenomenon shaped by both individual factors and social conditions. The study contributes theoretically by integrating Adler’s social interest with self-determination and ecological perspectives, and it has practical implications for family counseling, school-based interventions, and policies aimed at strengthening adolescent social development. A key limitation of this study was its reliance on self-report measures and cross-sectional data. Future research should be conducted with longitudinal designs and broader cultural comparisons.

Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Islamic Azad University, Tehran-North Branch (Code: IR.IAU.TNB.REC.1404.179). The participants’ information was kept confidential.

Funding
This article was extracted from PhD thesis of Neda Azizi, Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Islamic Azad University, North Tehran Branch. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Authors contributions
All authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study, data collection and analysis, interpretation of the results, and drafting of the manuscript. Each author approved the final version of the manuscript for submission.

Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments
The authors sincerely thank all participants for their cooperation in this study.


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