Levinson Midlife Transition Summary

According to Erikson, this is when the elderly start to be proud of their accomplishments, but are also faced with disparity of the goals they never reached (Berger, 2011). Noah is proud to be telling Allie about their past and wants her to remember it because he is taking so much pride in it. Even though Noah wants Allie to remember their past, he is dealing with the disparity that his wife may not ever remember him. An example from the movie is when Allie remembers who Noah is for just a few moments, and he is so glad and has thought she is back forever, but Allie immediately goes back into not knowing who Noah is (Cassavetes, 2004). Noah is immediately sad and despised that his wife will never be the same.

Mid-life crisis explain as a extremity in a middle ages, in people’s lives. Where middle ages may face a disappearance of identity and reduce their self-confidence. Midlife crisis has been known around the world for many years but has not always been believed by everyone because not everyone face it. Mid-life crisis is more of a normal change period that generally happen the time of a major life event that emphasizes getting older. A midlife crisis is something more person dependent rather than something everyone experiences. People go through many different experiences in their lives that happen at different time periods in their lives. Some experiences may seem worse than others and can make people feel like they will never be equal to anyone. On the other side, Some people may not experience any type of crisis during their middle age years. As we grow older we begin to put people aside and focus on new experiences in our lives such as having a career or having children. I accept that midlife crises do exist, but I am sure not everyone believe the same because some people might not happen .

The area of greatest disagreement was the area of midlife crisis. “Levinson (1978) views midlife as a crisis, arguing that the middle-aged adult is suspended between the past and the future, trying to cope with this gap that threatens life’s continuity (Santrock, 2013 p. 512). This is particularly interesting because the female responded that she was experiencing a midlife crisis and the male did not. However, in this instance, the female is still in the workforce and the male is retired. The experiences that the female related closely resemble the conditions of the male during the time of Levinson’s study. In addition to still working, the female had recently changed her place of employment, and within the past five years lost both of her parents. While the male was retired and took care of the house and children, his stress level had been reduced as he became the primary care giver to this in-laws and their passing reduced his overall daily responsibilities. Both maintain close relationships with their siblings and frequently get together with them.

The interview was conducted with a married female, 59 ½ years of age. The purpose was to document the subject’s lifespan history with recollections of significant events in her development. The focus was to identify any dystonic outcomes during any of the stages of Erikson’s personal developmental theory, theory of the mind, Levinson theory, attachment theory and Identity theory. It is anticipated that the questions could quarantine specific areas and incidents that may have obstructed any of the developmental theories thereby influencing the subject’s later view of adolescent, young adult and middle age. The focus for the paper is inspired by Erickson’s emphasis on the identity crisis as the “psychosocial

The world around us has many current issues that relate one way or another to family and consumer science. I recently read an article written by Joan R. McFadden and Kay T. Rawson Swan, entitled “Women During Midlife: Is It Transition or Crisis?”. The article talked about how women go through the different stages of menopause also known as mid-life crisis to some. With a mid-life crisis it is stated to involve a feeling of loneliness, a period of wanting to find one’s self in the world, a time to reinvent yourself, to live outside of a woman’s everyday life style, and to experience changes in health and family roles. For many women these statements are said to be true, but not all women are the same.

Fist coming into Human Development class my understanding of a mid-life crisis, was when a middle aged person splurges and buys a new sports car, or such like outrageous items. Or when a husband and wife split-up for a year and they do not even really know why. Maybe even when someone seems not quite themselves or just crazy, and in the back of your mind you’re saying they need to see a doctor or take their medicine as prescribed. In our text and from other sources it explains mid-life crisis in several theories but the one that I mostly agree with is Levinson’s.

According to McAdams (2009), in their late teens and early 20s, young people living in modern societies face the challenge of finding a place for themselves in the complex adult world and developing an understanding of themselves that provides their life with meaning, unity, and purpose. ("Chapter 9, The Problem of Identity, Adolescence and Young Adulthood"). However, some who will experience many conflicts such as, identity crisis, role confusions, and insecurity of how they will fit into society. I think she is at this stage because she is still in the process of developing her sense of self at the age of 29. She had begun to accomplish many of her goals, but tend to never finish them such as, school, and different career opportunities. At her age she still feel a need to blend in with her social group of younger adults, instead of focusing on herself and her children. I honestly believe that she is trapped in her teenage years, since her mother had done everything for her and the children. Which I feel that it really effected the way she thinks and live her life, which may have caused her to get lost in the mix of becoming an independent adult. The central question that was posed during stage 5, adolescence and young adulthood, is “How do I fit into the adult world”? (McAdams, 2009, p. 351). I believe she has unconsciously sought to answer this question, because she rather be with her friends out in

Mid-life transition can be seen as a difficult process because it is the point of our lives where we start to accept the end of our youth and begin the process of aging. For those who do not have a smooth emotional transition can suffer from a mid-life crisis.

Late adulthood in Erikson’s life stage theory is the difference between in integrity versus despair. (Ashford & Lecroy, 2013, p. 99) Doris has found her life to be very satisfying. The only thing she wishes could have been changed is the passing of her husband so early. She is content and proud of the way her children have turned out and where her life is currently. We have talked much about how things were as she raised her children and even that of when she was a child. Cappeliez calls this the reminiscence bump, the ability to recall memories from adolescence through young adulthood. (2008, p. 1) She appreciates the life she has been fortunate to have and enjoys sharing the memories she has. I observed the way her face lit up as we talked about her as a child and her children.

I watched another man having a mid-life crisis, pull out of the Novak car dealership across the street in a silver convertible. My uncle ran that dealership. I scanned my dad’s car lot; the cars were much older with red numbers written on the windshields, and they were Hondas rather than BMWs. Dad was having an intense phone call in the dimly lit back office. From where I sat at the desk, I could hear snippets of the conversation that filtered through the gap through the door.

Levinson perspective regarded men in stages of life spinoffs from Jung, Havighurst, and Erikson, Levinson interpreted life in a series of crises and challenges (Robbins, Chatterjee, and Canda, pg 219). Levinson believed that as long as a person was alive then there is no end to the opportunities on can explore (Adamson and Levinson, 1977). With the focus on Mr. Frenchy the discussion will regard the last adult stages of development. Life cycle, seasons, and journey all include the stages of life according to Levinson (1978), and proposed each stage of life has its limitations and virtues. Levinson stated there are alternative routes, detours, speeds, and stops, but the journey continues as life goes on. According to Levinson, every man in late adulthood has to deal with the

Middle-aged adults experience change in many different areas of their life at this time, they will find that not only their health is changing, but their appearance, their family, their thinking, and their emotions are changes as well. When discussing people that fall into the middle adulthood age of life, the term “midlife crisis” is often used, but according to an article titled Middle Adulthood Developmental Psychology, “most people during middle adulthood are satisfied and pleased with their lives”, ("Physical Changes," 2008-2013, expression 1). This article also states that the age range for middle adulthood is approximately age thirty-five to sixty-four. Midlife crisis is a when an individual views themselves and are unhappy with

It is clear to see every one of Erikson’s stages play out within my mother’s life. As a 46-year-old woman, she has achieved most all of the beginning stages, such as autonomy and industry, but it was not until after she was married, at age 22, that she gained a more clear and confident identity while she simultaneously worked toward achieving intimacy. Though Erikson believed that one must have a secure self identity before moving onto the next stage, which includes marriage, it is evident in the case of my mother that the relationships she formed after marriage are what makes up the majority of her current identity. In stage seven she developed a mature love and fully found her identity through experiences as a mother and wife. She even went as far as to say that she would have “most likely turned

Levinson’s Theory of Life Structure, transitions that occurred at specific chronological times during the life course otherwise adulthood is a period of stress and instability (Hutchison, E.D. 2003). The development of human life is influenced by countless forces from different perspectives or environment in relation to an individual, which play a role in Jr’s life development his perspective about life was often negative and his environment was also a dark place for him. For example, Jr suffered multiple overdoses and at one-point living on the street due to the fact that his mom kicked him out for being violet while on substances. The adolescent stage is difficult for many individuals that do not know how to face adulthood, also without emotional

Throughout the Human Behavior and the Social Environment course, we have encompassed the many stages of the life cycle process. Now that I am twenty two years old, I found the early adulthood stage to be the most influential, and the most sensible one to relate to given the point that I am at in my life. More importantly, I decided to research and apply this life cycle stage to a variety of milestones, experienced by my interviewee, Chelsie. Living just houses apart, being raised by single fathers, Chelsie and I found that we had many things in common. We have remained friends since we were children, and have only grown to be closer into our early adulthood years.