Levinson's Theory Of Seasons Of Adulthood

People pass through different stages of development throughout their lives. In the process of this, many changes are experienced that affect the life course. There are various theories as well as theorist to choose from in order to gain a greater knowledge of an individual’s development. In this paper I will analyze the Life Course Perspective and Levinson’s Theory of Seasons of Adulthood. After analyzing these theories, I will apply the concepts of The Life Course Perspective and Levinson to my father’s life.
The Life Course Perspective is an approach to human behavior that recognizes the influence of age, but also acknowledges the influences of historical time and culture (Hutchison, 2013, p. 795). It is an approach that is used to evaluate

The theory is based solely around an individual’s life structure. His theory is one of the best known, as well as most quoted theories around (Hutchison, 2013, p. 601). There are four stages related to his theory. He views the Life Cycle as a sequence of eras (Levinson, 1986, p. 5). He believes that changes occur while going from one era to the next and that changes even happen within an era. According to Hutchison (2013), each era overlaps the preceding one initiating a cross era transition which last about five years (p. 601). As a consequence, the termination of one era is the start of a new one. Moreover, Levinson believes that the start and completion of any era begins and ends at defined average age (Levinson, 1986, p. 5). There are two central concepts in this theory: the stable period and the transitional period. In the stable period this is where crucial choices are made. However, the transitional period signifies the termination of one stage and the start of a new one. The first era is the pre-adulthood stage; it begins from birth through the age of 22. Children move from being solely reliant on on their parents in childhood to obtaining more independence in the young adult years (Levinson, 1986, p.5). This is the time when the biopsychosocial elements are undergoing rapid growth. Likewise, this is the period where the continuing process of individuation starts. As children are able to differentiate themselves from their parents they begin to recognize the difference between them and others. Also, between the ages of 17-22 there is a transitional period of about five years from pre adulthood to young adulthood. At this point, the affiliations with family begin to change as people begin to assert themselves in the adult world (Levinson, 1986, p. 5). Next, is the early adulthood stage that goes from 17-45. Levinson states, “It is the adult era of greatest energy