Seasons Life Theory

Daniel Levinson was a psychologist who proposed a model of adulthood development based on challenges and predicaments at numerous stages in the life cycle. This was called The Seasons Life Theory. These stages are influenced by many factors such as social and physical environment, which include family and work (Robbins et al., 2012). In addition, once one stage is completed, Levinson’s theory suggests that a new one will begin and therefore create a new life structure. Using Levinson’s understanding about how life progresses, Denise’s life stages can be understood and explained through the completion of each of his stages and beginning of a new one. The first stage is called early adult transition from ages 17-22. During this stage, they
During this phase, people begin to make choices in love, work, education and lifestyle. Furthermore, they are ambitious and goal oriented which results in wanting to settle down to start a family (Levinson, 1986). This is apparent in Denise’s life as evidence by her joining the United States Army after having dead end jobs. She was motivated to enlist because she wanted to be successful and receive training to enter the workforce upon completing her enlistment. Additionally, this experience provided personal growth along with educational benefits. Moreover, this stage correlates when Denise began to attend school. She set this goal to improve her overall quality of life. Her commitment and determination allowed her to have a successful and fulfilling career as a nurse. Another way Denise demonstrates this is when she got married to Robert. In spite of the fact it ended in a divorce, she continued to have her own family. This resembles Levinson’s understanding that at this stage in an adult life course, family structures takes precedence and is desired to be established. Denise still creates a family dynamic with her new daughter, Sarah despite not being married to Robert. Although they finalized their divorce, Robert helped to co-raise his daughter and they together created a new and different family dynamic not like the norm.
Strengths and Limitations. A benefit when using Levinson’s Theory of Adulthood is that it provides the history of an individual’s life. It offers a clear understanding of the person’s entire life course and explains their life development. Being able to distinguish these stages of Levinson’s theory allowed me to recognize key points as Denise moved to the next era of her life. Furthermore, the structured point of view to look at her life instead of applying multiple theorists’ perspectives gave a better sense for applying this