Levinson's Theory Analysis

Exploring many different theories can help explain the different stages in human development. Over the course of an individual’s lifetime various experiences can shape their perception of the world and how they cope with challenges or how they function in their everyday lives. Using Levinson’s and Erickson’s theory, a better understanding of Kendra Phillip’s development can be attributed to the difficulties she has faced over the years of her life. Levinson’s theory is, “Built around the idea of life structures, or patterns of behavior that, in combination with the environment, are shaping forces in people’s lives (p.341, Rogers, 2013). An individual’s way of life is shaped as a result of the environment around them. The seventh stage of Erickson’s …show more content…
If the environment around an individual is positive and gives one a sense of love and protection, then this individual is most likely to develop good nurturing and loving behaviors. When experiencing any type of environment, an individual may develop different responses to behavior because they did not grow up in the same environment. A person with a more positive and safe environment will learn to practice behaviors such as being able to make another child feel loved and be able to care for another individual. If an individual has grown up in an environment less loving and unsafe, they may have difficulties expressing love and care to others. Activities that may be engaged include sleeping with weapons close by because they feel unsafe at night. Kendra, for example, grew up in an environment where there was a limited amount of income, so behaviors she currently practices today are survival skills she has developed due to her experiences growing up in a low income …show more content…
She moved here after she met her ex-husband and the two making the choice to get married. The two were married for ten years and were fortunate to give birth to a son, this would be Kendra’s only child. During their marriage Kendra and her husband then relocated to Maryland, where this would be the last state the two would remain legally married to one another. After her divorce from her child’s father, she relocated back to South Carolina and re-married to her second husband in 2005. With her newly blended family, Kendra had to deal with her son’s resistance to their new family. She remembers her son being an excellent honor roll student prior to her second marriage and having to deal with the fact of his grades beginning to drop, proving this to be her greatest challenge she has ever had to deal with. As he became more and more rebellious towards her new husband, Kendra saw counseling for her and her son to be necessary. This was the beginning of her and her son discussing the challenges of a blended