Critique of Levinson's theory in relation to women

Journal of Adult Development, Vol. 5, No. 1, 1998 

The Impact of 'the Dream' on Women's Experience of 

the Midlife Transition 

Lynette E. Minter1 and Curtis A. Samuels1,2 

Daniel Levinson's claim for the universality of age-linked periods is considered highly controversial 

considering that his theory evolved from a study consisting of males only. Theories 

relating to women's development, particularly at midlife, are somewhat scarce and restricted. 

Using Levinson's theory of adult development as a framework, the present study retrospectively 

examined "the Dream" and its impact on women's psychological health and adjustment 

to the Midlife Transition. Three hundred midlife women completed a questionnaire examining 

Dream Status, Dream Content, Dream Success, and the psychological health variables, 

depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and life satisfaction. Dream Success was significantly related 

to psychological health on dimensions of well-being and composure, and interesting changes 

were observed in Dream Content across the early and current Dream. Our findings revealed 

that, despite the overall greater complexity of women's Dreams, Levinson's theory is largely 

applicable to women's development. 

KEY WORDS: "The Dream"; women; midlife transition; developmental trajectory. 

INTRODUCTION 

Developmental psychologists have traditionally 

focused on childhood as the primary period of development. 

Freud believed the personality to be 

more or less determined by age 5 and consequently 

regarded adulthood as a time in which early unconscious 

conflicts were reenacted, rather than as a time 

of further development (Levinson, Darrow, Klein, 

Levinson, & McKee, 1979). Beyond adolescence, 

there was little recognition of growth as a possibility 

and, until recently, adult life was viewed primarily in 

terms of its problems, with an emphasis on aging and 

decline. 

Adult development has become a rapidly growing 

field of research and theory, and recent theorists 

have adopted life-span perspectives which challenge 

1Department 

of Psychology, University of New England, Armidale, 

New South Wales 2351. 

2Correspondence should be directed to Dr. Curtis A. Samuels, Department 

of Psychology, University of New England, Armidale, 

New South Wales, Australia 2351. 

old assumptions and which view change and development 

as being not only possible, but predictable 

(Baltes, 1987). The years between 18 and 50 are now 

considered the time when maximum opportunity and 

capacity are unfolding (Sheehy, 1976). 

Erikson (1950) was the first to make the life cycle 

a clear and popular concept. However, together 

with Jung, Erikson provided the inspiration for 

Levinson. Levinson proposed that just as there are 

basic principles governing development in childhood 

and adolescence, there are sequential periods, eras 

and developmental tasks that adults progress through 

which influence the character of their life at various 

points along the life path (Levinson et al., 1979). Unlike 

Erikson, however, Levinson viewed his stages as 

being heavily constrained by age and was very specific 

about the duration and timing of the periods. 

Levinson's Theory of Adult Development 

Levinson's eras are roughly 20 years in length 

and contain within them distinct periods ranging 

31 

1068-0667/98/0100-0031$15.00/0 © 1998 Plenum Publishing Corporation

32 Minter and Samuels 

from 4 to 7 years which characterize particular developmental 

tasks. Of relevance to the present study 

is Levinson's Early Adult Era (ages 20 to 40) and 

the Midlife Transition (ages 40 to 45), a cross-era 

transitional period following the Early Adult Era 

which ushers in Middle Adulthood (Roberts & Newton, 

1987). The periods within Levinson's Early 

Adult Era are the Early Adult Transition (ages 17 to 

22), the Entry Life Structure for Early Adulthood 

(ages 22 to 28), the Age Thirty Transition (ages 28 

to 33), and to the Culminating Life Structure for 

Early Adulthood (ages 33 to 40), which marks the 

end of the Early Adult Era. 

The particular tasks of each period are: during 

the 20s, to form a preliminary adult identity, to explore 

the self and adult world and to make and test 

provisional choices, ultimately constructing an integrated 

life structure in which the first major choices 

are made relating to important components of the 

individuals life. Following the Age Thirty Transition, 

which involves a reassessment of the choices and life 

structure made during the 20s, the period of Building 

a Culminating Life Structure for Early Adulthood 

begins. During this time, one strives to make a niche 

in society and to advance up the ladder of personal 

enterprise and to become more fully one's own person, 

independent and self-sufficient. Finally, the 

Midlife Transition involves a period of potentially intense 

introspection in which the individual reappraises 

life and attempts to come to terms with the 

past and who he or she is in preparation for the move 

into Middle Adulthood. This is an important period 

during which the outer life structure and inner concept 

of self undergo often profound change as the 

individual yearns for a life of little compromise in 

which their values, talents, and aspirations can be expressed 

(Levinson et al., 1979; Rossi, 1980). 

Levinson's theory (Levinson et al., 1979) also 

conceptualized "the Dream." The Dream is a vague 

sense of self in the adult world, of the kind of life 

one wants to lead as an adult. It has the quality of 

a vision, an imagined possibility that generates excitement 

and vitality. The Dream may be to become 

a great artist, or simply the husband or wife in a certain 

kind of family; however, these images are usually 

placed above ordinary life goals and are deeply 

rooted in issues of personal identity, purpose, and 

meaning. 

While Levinson's theory (Levinson et al., 1979) 

was based upon a study of predominantly white, middle-class, 

employed men aged 35 to 45, the findings 

have frequently been presumed adequate for men 

and women alike. Such issues serve to enhance the 

controversy already generated by the specificity of 

Levinson's age constraints (Roberts & Newton, 

1987). However, Levinson himself recognized the 

need to establish a comprehensive theory of women's 

adult development, and prior to his death in March 

of 1994, spent 15 years completing a study on women 

that has only recently been published (Newton, 

1994). His book titled The Seasons of a Woman's Life 

(Levinson, 1996) presents the findings of his autobiographical 

study of 45 women. Like his men, the 

women were aged between 35 and 45 years; however, 

he also gained information by way of questionnaire 

data from a further 655 women. He found that within 

each era women and men pass through the same sequence 

of periods at the same ages; however, there 

are wide variations both within and between the genders 

in specific ways of traversing each period. 

Levinsonian Studies of Women and the Dream 

Stewart (1977), Droege (192), and Furst (1983) 

(cited in Roberts & Newton, 1987) each conducted 

a study designed to test the generalizability of Levinson's 

original theory to women. A review of their literature 

confirms Levinson's recent findings in 

indicating that women progress through the same developmental 

periods, with the timing and nature of 

developmental tasks being similar to men. Sheehy 

(1976), inspired by the work of Levinson and others, 

attempted to realize a theory of development for 

both men and women. Her works is also in broad 

agreement with Levinson's periods; however, she 

found that men and women rarely struggled with the 

same questions at the same age. Levinson's model 

assumes a continuous, uninterrupted series of events 

such as marriage and occupational commitment. 

However, the resolution of personal issues and ambitions 

are often interrupted for women by the demands 

of childbearing and raising a family, and 

consequently their way of working on developmental 

tasks and the outcomes of those tasks are seen 

to be different than the ways and outcomes for 

men (Roberts & Newton, 1987). This was understood 

and acknowledged by Levinson (1996) in his 

later work. However, Roberts and Newton (1987) 

and Chi-Ching (1995) understood these differences 

to be, in part, a consequence of the greater complexity 

of women's Dreams and the problems en-

"The Dream" and Women's Midlife Transition 33 

countered in living them out. It is interesting that 

Levinson made little reference to the Dream in his 

recent study of women. In comparison to his earlier 

study on men, which placed significant emphasis on 

the role of The Dream in the development of the 

life structure and its implications at midlife, it is conspicuous 

that he did not examine and follow through 

more thoroughly the impact of the Dream on the 

lives of his female subjects—other than in relation 

to the lack of mentors for females in academic environments. 

Unlike the men in Levinson's study who reported 

Dreams in which occupation stood as the primary 

component, Roberts and Newton (1987) found 

that women considered both marriage and career to 

be desirable goals, but that of the two, marriage was 

of primary importance. In their review of Levinsonian 

studies with women, Roberts and Newton 

found that six of the total 39 women included in the 

studies by Stewart (1977), Droege (1982), and Furst 

(1983) were unable to form a Dream of any kind, 

six formed relational Dreams, and seven formed individualistic 

Dreams. The remaining 20 women 

formed Dreams that attended equally to both occupational 

and relational pursuits. More recently, Drebing, 

Gooden, Van De Kemp, and Maloney (1995) 

also found women's Dreams to be more multifaceted. 

In their study of 90 women, they found the 

most common early Dream to be marriage/intimacy 

(60%), followed by family (58%), career (39%), and 

personal (39%). In all, 26% had mixed Dreams, 

often combining marriage, family, career, and personal 

items. The greater complexity of women's 

Dreams, however, has been found to often result in 

many women still working to attain their Dream at 

midlife (Droege, 1982; cited in Roberts & Newton, 

1987; Drebing et al., 1995). 

Pahlke (1989; cited in Drebing et al., 1995) 

found no evidence for significant change in early 

Dream content during the decades of the 20s and 

30s, suggesting that the early Dream remains fairly 

stable during this time. However, Drebing et al., 

found that Dream content changed in women at 

midlife, away from the primary focus of relational 

elements as found in the early Dream to more individualized 

Dreams reflecting desires for personal 

growth and fulfillment. This is consistent with Levinson's 

proposal (Levinson et al., 1979) that the Dream 

is reworked during the Midlife Transition to reflect 

new values and priorities for entering Middle Adulthood. 

Consequences of the Dream in Midlife 

Levinson et al. (1979) defined the years 17 to 

34 as a crucial period for forming and attempting to 

give lived expression to the Dream; however, midlife 

is a major life-cycle period and he saw the Dream 

as having particular significance during the Midlife 

Transition. To varying degrees individuals experience 

the culminating phase of Early Adulthood as a time 

of rich satisfaction and bitter disappointment, discovering 

that the era gave both much more and less than 

had been envisioned (Levinson, 1986; Levinson et al., 

1979). For some women, this process can be a source 

of anxiety, a reminder of aspirations never attained 

or opportunities lost to time. During this time the 

individual reflects on and evaluates the place of the 

Dream and in what ways it has been lived out, compromised, 

or left out (Gilbert, 1993; Coleman & Antonucci, 

1983). Levinson et al. (1979) stated that 

conflict may occur between a life direction that expresses 

the Dream or another that opposes it, due 

to societal or parental pressure, external constraints 

such as lack of money and opportunity, or even aspects 

of personality. He conceded that conflict and 

betrayal of the Dream may extend over many years, 

but that those who build a life structure around it in 

Early Adulthood have a greater chance for personal 

fulfillment as the Dream is seen to enrich the individual's 

life by infusing it with purpose and meaning. 

If the Dream remains unconnected to the individual's 

life, it may die and take with it the individual's 

aliveness and purpose. During the idealism of 

youth, fulfilling the Dream is perceived to bring true 

value and lasting happiness to life. Levinson et al. 

(1979) proposed that in one's late 30s, during the culminating 

phase of Early Adulthood, one has a "now 

or never" urge to realize the aspirations of the early 

Dream and that during the Midlife Transition the 

consequences of its pursuit or betrayal are confronted 

as youthful illusions crumble and time is perceived 

to be running short. 

Drebing et al. (1995) conducted the only study 

to examine the relationship between aspects of the 

Dream and mental health in midlife women. Their 

mental health variables included measures of depression, 

anxiety, and purpose-in-life, factors commonly 

considered salient in the distress associated with the 

Midlife Transition (Drebing et al., 1995; Levinson et 

al., 1979). Of their subjects, 81% currently had a stable 

Dream, 7% had fulfilled their early Dream, 6% 

had given it up, and 3% had never formed one.


While finding no differences between those with and 

those without an early Dream, they found that, 

among women with an early Dream, those who had 

given up their Dream showed the significantly greatest 

amount of anxiety (Drebing et al., 1995). Their 

study, however, had methodological shortcomings 

that essentially confounded their results and reduced 

its reliability. 

Limitations of Previous Research 

Drebing et al. (1995) approached the Dream 

from two differing perspectives. In the first, they examined 

subjects who reported having no current 

Dream and why this was so—whether because they 

had fulfilled their early dream, given it up, or formed 

no early Dream or because their Dream was in transition. 

They then examined the relationship between 

these Dream success categories and mental health. 

The second approach examined those individuals 

currently with a Dream and to what extent participants 

could foresee successful accomplishment of 

their Dream. They therefore essentially separated 

their subjects into distinct groups; those without a 

current Dream and those having a stable, current 

Dream. In reporting that 81% of women had a stable 

Dream, they interpreted this large number to be a 

consequence of the greater complexity of women's 

lives in which more time was required to determine 

Dream success than previously found for men. They 

therefore implied that "stable Dream" refers to the 

continuous pursuit of an early Dream which remains, 

as yet, unfulfilled. There was not attempt to distinguish 

between those who had a current Dream as a 

result of not yet having fulfilled the early Dream, and 

those with a current Dream as a result of having 

formed a new Dream for midlife due to having fulfilled 

or given up the early Dream. It therefore seems 

reasonable to suggest that their results may have 

been somewhat confounded. Eighty-one percent of 

women is a large percentage and requires verification. 

The remaining 19% of participants with a current 

Dream, which in a study using 90 subjects 

amounts to only 17 of those participants, were then 

allocated to the various remaining Dream Success 

categories, of which there were four. This yielded cell 

sizes which were small and consequently could potentially 

be unreliable. 

In reviewing what little research exists in relation 

to women and the Dream, it appears that all 

studies have used extremely small sample sizes, generally 

due to the use of personal interview techniques 

(Droege, 1982; Furst, 1983; Stewart, 1977; cited in 

Roberts and Newton, 1987); however, while Drebing 

et al. (1995) used a questionnaire format and relatively 

large sample, their methodology severely limited 

sample size in relation to Dream success. 

Rationale and Hypotheses 

In order to experience a positive midlife, one 

needs to feel a sense of achievement and satisfaction 

coupled with a sense of challenge, commitment, and 

the possibility for growth (Gilbert, 1993). The present 

study thereby retrospectively examined the early 

Dream and its influence on adjustment and psychological 

well being during the Midlife Transition, as 

measured by life satisfaction, self-esteem, anxiety, 

and depression in midlife women. 

To the degree that the Dream played an important 

role in women's development, and particularly 

in the Midlife Transition, it was hypothesized that attainment 

of the Dream or "Dream Success," would 

be positively related to the psychological health variables 

by way of (a) lower levels of depression, (b) 

lower levels of anxiety, (c) higher self-esteem, and 

(d) higher life satisfaction. Conversely, it was expected 

that women whose Dreams had been 

thwarted would experience the greatest distress during 

the Midlife Transition due to having denied expression 

of an important aspect of self (Levinson et 

al., 1979). 

In order to correct for Drebing et al.'s (1995) 

perceived methodological error, the present study 

separated those women who had a current Dream, 

because they were still in pursuit of their early 

Dream, from those who had formulated a new 

Dream for midlife. In doing so it was hoped to 

clearly distinguish whether or not women do require 

a longer time to fulfil their Dream and to determine 

what impact this has on mental health and adjustment 

during the Midlife Transition. 

In conducting the study, the intention was to 

draw samples from a broad range of midlife women 

of various backgrounds and socioeconomic groupings, 

in an effort to understand the role and place 

of the Dream in the context of women's many varied 

lives today.


METHOD 

Participants 

An original sample of 355 women between ages 

40 and 50 completed a questionnaire examining 

Dream Status, Dream Content, Dream Success, and 

the psychological health variables, of depression, 

anxiety, self-esteem, and life satisfaction. The sample 

was drawn voluntarily from sources such as universities, 

community centers, libraries, various 

women's organizations, and interest groups, within 

and around Lismore, Armidale, and Sydney in New 

South Wales, Australia. The rationale behind our 

choice of age boundaries was to maintain selective 

focus without Levinson et al.'s (1979) chronological 

framework. Given Levinson's age parameters of 40 

to 45 for the Midlife Transition, allowing 2 years on 

either side of this range for individual differences in 

onset and termination of the period, the 40- 59-year 

age category selected for this study was seen to approximate 

the most workable range within which 

most women could be considered to be experiencing 

the Midlife Transition. The 40- 50-year age category 

best approximates the range within which most 

women will experience the Midlife Transition 

(Levinson et al., 1979; Roberts & Newton, 1987). It 

was therefore expected that participants would be 

experiencing a time of heightened introspection and 

reflection over their lives and their life goals and 

meaning. 

As the study is concerned with establishing the 

consequences of women's early Dreams on psychological 

health at midlife, it was necessary to control 

for any factors that might confound measures of psychological 

health. Participants were screened and 

those currently using antidepressants or reporting 

chronically poor health were excluded a priori from 

the study. Likewise, women scoring over 50 on the 

Depression scale were also excluded, as their scores 

tended to be extreme on all scales and were not considered 

representative of the population being studied. 

As a consequence, 55 of the original 355 respondents 

to the study were excluded from analysis. 

Of these 55, five participants identified there ages 

as being outside the preestablished age range, six 

had missing data, 15 had depression scores over 50, 

12 were currently taking antidepressants, and 17 

were suffering from chronically poor health or severe 

disabilities. 

The final sample therefore consisted of 300 female 

participants between ages 40- to 50, with a 

mean age of 45 years (SD = 3.2). Virtually all sample 

members were white, with a preponderance of welleducated, 

middle- to upper-class women represented. 

The demographic data relating to the sample are 

summarized in Table I. 

Table I. Sample Characteristics 

Variable 

«(%) 

Variable 

n(%) 

Education 

Year 9 or less, High School 

Year 10 or Year 11, High School 

Year 12, High School 

Training and further education (TAPE) 

certificate or diploma 

Undergraduate, University level 

Postgraduate, University level 

23(8) 

66 (22) 

33 (11) 

58 (19) 

82 (27) 

38 (13) 

Occupation 

Homemaker 

Professional 

Proprietors-managers 

Office and sales 

Farmers 

Skilled 

Semiskilled 

46 (15) 

2(1) 

27 (10) 

115 (38) 

58 (19) 

49 (16) 

3(1) 

Employment status 

Unemployed 

Employed 

Income 

Less than $15,000 

$15,000-$24,999 

$25,000-39,999 

$40,000-$59,999 

$60,000 or greater 

46 (15) 

254 (85) 

37 (12) 

45 (15) 

66 (22) 

75(25) 

77 (26) 

Marital status 

Married + children 

Married only 

Never-married + children 

Never-married only 

Divorced + children 

Divorced only 

183 (61) 

18(6) 

6(2) 

23(8) 

66 (22) 

4(1)


Procedure 

Personal contacts were made to individuals who 

held key positions in various women's organizations, 

interest groups, and centers, explaining the study and 

its purpose. When support for the study was established, 

individuals were sent a number of questionnaires 

by mail and requested to distribute them 

through contacts within their organizations or 

groups. An information and consent form was attached 

to each questionnaire explaining to participants 

the purpose of the study. The area of adult 

development was introduced and briefly defined as 

being an area within psychology concerned with the 

psychosocial growth and change that adults progress 

through at various points along their life paths. It was 

explained that current research and theory are limited 

relating to women's development and that the 

purpose of the present study was to contribute to an 

awareness of the needs and development of today's 

women. Willing participants were required to return 

by mail the questionnaire upon completion. Of the 

total distributed, the 355 returned amounted to a 

40% response rate. 

Measures 

Dream Success was the independent variable, 

having four levels, while measures of psychological 

health and adaptation—life satisfaction, depression, 

anxiety, and self-esteem—composed the four dependent 

variables. The specific instruments used to 

assess each variable are described below. 

Dream Status 

Using a self-report method adapted from Drebing 

et al. (1995), participants were presented with 

the following description of the Dream: 

A personal Dream may be thought of as the central 

goal or image that a person holds which best captures 

the general hopes and wishes of what they 

want to do or be in their lifetime. It has the quality 

of a vision, an imagined ideal of what the individual 

wants to achieve or see take place in their future. 

Participants were then asked to respond "yes" 

or "no" to the following question: "Would you say 

that as a young woman between ages sixteen to 

twenty-four, you had a personal dream for your life?" 

If the answer was "Yes," the participant was then 

asked to describe the content of that early dream in 

a short paragraph and also to describe the current 

status of that early dream; for example, participants 

were asked if they felt they had attained their 

Dreams. 

During the midlife review, the early Dream may 

change to reflect new priorities for entering the second 

half of life; therefore, a final question related to 

current Dreams. Participants were asked: "If you 

have a current Dream, is it different in any way to 

that of your early Dream? If yes, please describe." 

If their Dream had not changed and their early 

Dream had not been attained or had been only partially 

fulfilled, participants were scored as having an 

unfulfilled early Dream. No response to this question 

was taken to signify the participant lacked a current 

Dream. 

Dream Content 

Responses to the descriptive paragraphs relating 

to early and current Dream content were coded according 

to the most commonly occurring content areas. 

Any mixed Dreams were recognized as 

belonging to more than one Dream content category 

and a registration was placed into each of the relevant 

Dream categories relating to the mixed Dream. 

Dream content was also coded in a simpler format 

utilized by Roberts and Newton (1987)—relational, 

individualistic, and mixed. 

Dream Success 

Participants' responses to the question pertaining 

to attainment of the early Dream were coded using 

the following categories: 0 (no earfy Dream), 1 

(early Dream given-up), 2 (early Dream fulfilled), and 

3 (early Dream unfulfilled). 

Category 2 refers to participants still in pursuit 

of their early Dream. These categories are similar to 

those used by Drebing et al. (1995); however their 

categories differed from ours in that they were confounded 

with current Dream status. 

Depression 

The Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression 

(CES-D scale Radloff, 1977) was used to assess 

depressive symptoms over the previous week via 20


items scored on a 4-point scale where 1 = rarefy or 

none of the time (less than one day) and 4 = most or 

all of the time (5 to 7 days). Scores range from 0 to 

60, with higher scores indicating greater depression. 

Radloff reported reliability coefficient alphas of .90 

and above (Radloff, 1977; cited in Robinson, Shaver, 

& Wrightsman, 1991). 

Self-Esteem 

The Self-Esteem Scale (SES; Rosenberg, 1965) 

measures the self-acceptance aspect of self-esteem. 

The scale consists of 10 Likert-style items with responses 

to items ranging from 1 (strongly agree) to 4 

(strongly disagree), resulting in a score range of 10 to 

40, with higher scores representing higher self-esteem. 

It is a popular measure of self-esteem, having 

relatively high reliability ratings. Dobson (1979) and 

Fleming and Courtney (1984) (cited in Robinson et 

al., 1991) reported Cronbach alpha's of .77 and .88, 

respectively. 

Life 

Satisfaction 

The Life Satisfaction Index-A, (LSI-A Neugarten, 

Havighurst, & Tobin, 1961) consists of 20 items 

relating to feelings of life satisfaction to which respondents 

check 'Agree," "Disagree," or "?" Scores 

may vary from 0 (lowest satisfaction) to 20 (highest 

satisfaction) (cited in Robinson, Shaver, & 

Wrightsman, 1991). Maynard (1993) reported a reliability 

alpha of .70 for the scale. 

Anxiety 

Trait anxiety refers to individual differences in 

anxiety proneness arising from relatively stable personality 

traits. State anxiety, however, refers to more 

transitory anxiety arising from specific anxiety-producing 

conditions. There exist two State-Trait Anxiety 

Inventory (STAI) scales (Spielberger et al., 1970): 

The STAI-Y1 is a measure of state anxiety, while the 

STAI-Y2 is a measure of trait anxiety (cited in Spielberger, 

Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg, & Jacobs, 1983). 

For the purposes of this study, the STAI-Y1 was chosen 

as the most appropriate scale given that we were 

concerned with measuring anxiety in response to 

women's experience of the Midlife Transition rather 

than anxiety arising from stable and individual differences 

in personality. 

The STAI-Y1 consists of 20 statements that 

evaluate how respondents feel "right now, at this moment." 

Responses to items range from 1 (not at all) 

to 4 (very much so). Consistent with the definition of 

state anxiety, the qualities evaluated by the scale are 

feelings of apprehension, tension, nervousness, and 

worry. Scores range from 20 to 80, with higher scores 

indicating greater psychological stress and anxiety. 

Reliability estimates using Cronbach's alpha have 

been reported at .90 and above (Spielberger et al., 

1983). 

Demographic Data, Use of Antidepressants, and 

Health 

A scale was also designed to elicit information 

pertaining to demographic data and to screen participants 

for antidepressant use and poor health. To 

determine if participants were using antidepressants, 

they were asked to respond "Yes" or "No" to the 

question 'Are you currently taking antidepressants?" 

Two questions determined the health of participants. 

The first asked participants to respond "Yes" or 

"No" to whether they were currently suffering a 

chronic or debilitating health problem. The second 

asked them to rate their present health as (a) excellent, 

(b) good, (c) fair, or (d) poor. Participants responding 

"Yes" to antidepressant use of "Yes" to the 

first health-related question and either fair or poor 

to the second were excluded from the study. 

RESULTS 

A frequency analysis revealed that 70% of participants 

reported having formulated an early Dream. 

Table II shows the distribution of participants with 

regard to early Dream, current Dream, and early 

Dream success. Of the participants with an early 

Dream, 55% had fulfilled their early Dream, 31% 

had given it up, and 14% were still in pursuit of that 

Dream—having, as yet, neither given up the Dream 

nor fulfilled it. 

In relation to early and current Dream content, 

Table III shows the frequency of the four most common 

Dream content areas. Mixed Dreams were composed 

of various mixes of the Dream content areas 

and made up 79% of the early Dreams and 55% of


Table II. Dream Status and Early Dream Success 

Dream status »(%) 

Early dream 

Yes 

No 

Current dream 

Yes 

No 

211 (70) 

89 (30) 

208 (69) 

92 (31) 

Dream success 

Early dream 

Fulfilled 

Unfulfilled 

Given up 

n(%) 

116 (55) 

30 (14) 

65 (31) 

Table III. Common Dream Content Areas 

Content 

Occupational 

Marriage/family 

Personal 

Travel 

Other 

Mixed 

Early dream, 

»(%) 

75 (36) 

128 (61) 

57 (27) 

27 (13) 

31 (15) 

167 (79) 

Current dream, 

n(%) 

55 (27) 

53 (26) 

88 (43) 

21 (10) 

45 (22) 

113 (55) 

the current Dreams. Coding the early Dream as per 

Roberts and Newton (1987), 28% formed relational 

Dreams, 26% were individualistic, and 46% were a 

mix of the two. For the current Dream these proportions 

changed to 11% relational, 55% individualistic, 

and 34% mixed. 

Previous research suggests that there are several 

sociodemographic variables confounded with psychological 

well being (Adelmann, 1993). Standard simultaneous 

regression was therefore used to assess the 

variables of education, income, socioeconomic status, 

and employment status on each of the psychological 

health-related dependent variables. There was also a 

concern that having a current Dream might confound 

measures of psychological health on the early 

Dream, as those individuals having worked through 

the outcome of their more optimistic earlier Dream, 

or lack of, may have enriched their lives with a current 

Dream and thus entered a more optimistic psychological 

space. Consequently current Dream status 

was also entered into each of the regressions as a 

predictor variable. Any variables significantly related 

to the dependent variables were to be entered as covariates 

in our main analyses; however, examination 

of the regression analyses revealed nonsignificant results 

of all variables, indicating that none of the variables 

contributed significantly to the prediction of 

depression, self-esteem life satisfaction, or anxiety 

and were therefore not confounding our main analyses. 

In order to test our main hypothesis that early 

Dream Success would differentially impact on psychological 

health during the Midlife Transition, a 

one-way discriminant function analysis was performed 

using Dream Success as the group variable 

and the four psychological health variables as predictors. 

Two discriminant functions were calculated, 

with a combined Wilks's lambda = .84, x2(12) = 

51.05, = < .01. After removal of the first function, 

a strong association remained between the Dream 

Success groups and the psychological health predictors, 

Wilks's lambda = .96, x2(6) = 12.89, p < .05, 

with the two discriminant functions accounting for 

76% and 23%, respectively, of the between-group 

variability. 

As shown in Fig. 1, Function 1 maximally separates 

those women having fulfilled their early Dream 

from those having given up or not yet fulfilled their 

Dream, with those having not formed an early 

Dream falling between these groups. The second 

function maximally discriminates between those 

women having fulfilled or given up their early 

Dream, from those with no early Dream. Those yet 

to fulfil their Dream lie between these groups. 

The loading matrix of correlations between the 

predictors and discriminant functions, as seen in Table 

IV suggests that life satisfaction (r = .98) is the 

best predictor for distinguishing between Dream Success 

groups on the first function. The pattern of correlations 

between function and predictors suggests 

that function 1 is a dimension of psychological wellbeing. 

In evaluating the canonical functions of the


Fig. 1. Plot of Dream Success on discriminant functions. 

Predictor variable 

Life satisfaction 

Anxiety 

Depression 

Self-esteem 

Canonical R 

Eigenvalue 

Table IV. Discriminant Fuinction Analysis of Early Dream Success 

Correlations of predictor 

variables with discriminant 

functons 

1 

2 

.98a 

-.59 

-.57 

.53 

.35 

.12 

.12 

-.33" 

.57a 

.22 

.20 

.04 

Group 

No dream 

Fulfilled 

Unfulfilled 

Given up 

Canonical functions 

evaluated at group means 

1 

2 

-.07 

.42 

-.41 

-.47 

"Indicates variables contributing most significantly to distinction between groups on each function. 

- .29 

.10 

-.07 

.25 

group means in relation to the loading matrix of correlations, 

having fulfilled the early Dream is seen to 

be most highly associated with psychological well-being 

during the Midlife Transition. Having not formed 

an early Dream is associated with lower levels of psychological 

well-being, while having given up or not 

yet fulfilled the Dream is associated with the least 

psychological well-being. 

On Function 2, depression (r = .57) and anxiety 

(r = -.33) are the best predictors distinguishing between 

Dream Success groups. However, as depression 

is positively correlated to Function 2 and anxiety 

negatively correlated, and as depression is associated 

with a certain dampening down of psychological 

processes, while anxiety is associated with a heightening 

of psychological arousal, Function 2 appears to 

be measuring a dimension of psychological composure 

or restraint. In evaluating the canonical functions 

of the group means in relation to the loading 

matrix of correlations (see Table IV), having given


up the early Dream is associated with the greatest 

psychological composure during the Midlife Transition, 

followed next by those having fulfilled their 

Dream and then those with unfulfilled Dreams. Having 

formed no early Dream is associated with the 

least psychological composure (see also Fig. 1). 

DISCUSSION 

In line with expectations and previous research, 

the large majority of women in the study, 70%, had 

formulated an early Dream during the Early Adult 

Transition in preparation for their entry into early 

adulthood. 

Our findings in relation to Dream Content 

match closely those of Drebing et al. (1995), whereby 

marriage/family (61%) was by far the most popular 

content area, followed by occupation (36%) and then 

personal (27%). Unlike for Drebing et al., however, 

travel also emerged as a relatively consistent theme 

(13%)-see Table III. 

As proposed by Levinson et al. (1979), the 

Dream does change in preparation for entry into 

Middle Adulthood and indeed reflected changed priorities 

for the women in this study. For the 69% with 

a current Dream, the relative proportion of Dream 

content areas changed quite considerably. Marriage/family 

came in third (26%) behind personal 

(43%), the most popular, and occupation (27%). 

This finding is also consistent with that of Drebing 

et al. (1995). As a consequence, our Australian sample 

did not appear too different from their American 

sisters with regard to general Dream content. 

The emphasis on personal content in the current 

Dream reflects the change in focus from earlier relational 

pursuits to more individualistic goals expressing 

the need for personal growth and fulfillment of 

personal desires. This is consistent with most women 

of this age finding their children to be older, more 

independent, and leaving home, resulting in their 

having more time to pursue personal ambitions and 

interests. It is also a reflection of the need to be 

more true to the self and the need for less compromise, 

a natural outgrowth of the midlife review 

(Levinson et al., 1979; Smart & Peterson, 1994). 

While men as they age become more tolerant 

of their nurturing impulses, it is generally acknowledged 

that women become more tolerant of their 

independent and assertive side (Chi-Ching, 1995; 

Freysinger, 1995; Labouvie-Vief, Orwoll & Manion, 

1995; Rossi, 1980). In Levinson et al.'s (1979) work 

it was noted that family relations emerged as quite 

salient for men in their 40s. Conversely, one would 

have expected the women in this study to have formulated 

more achievement-related individualistic 

Dreams at midlife (Gergen, 1990). However, this was 

not so; in fact, for the current Dream there was almost 

a 10% drop in "occupation" as a content area. 

This may be due to many of our women having been 

employed during their early adult years and consequently 

desiring to focus on other less developed aspects 

of themselves. It is interesting also that the 

proportion of women reporting mixed Dreams 

changed from 79% for the early Dream, to only 55% 

for the current Dream, indicating that women become 

far more focused and possibly more realistic 

in their choice of current Dream as a consequence 

of age and experience. 

The hypothesis that Dream success would be 

positively related to psychological health and adaptation 

during the Midlife Transition was supported. 

In comparing the various Dream Success categories. 

Dream Success was found to be related to psychological 

health on two dimensions: psychological wellbeing 

and psychological composure. Life satisfaction 

contributed greatly to the overall significant difference 

in psychological well-being between Dream 

Success categories, with those women having fulfilled 

their early Dream being associated with greatest psychological 

well-being, followed by those without an 

early Dream. Women having given up their Dream 

or having an unfulfilled early Dream were associated 

with least psychological well-being during the Midlife 

Transition (see Table IV). 

In relation to psychological composure—the second 

dimension on the discriminant function—both 

having given up and fulfilled the early Dream were 

associated with having the greatest psychological 

composure during the Midlife Transition, while being 

still in pursuit of or having no early Dream were both 

associated with the least composure. Although these 

findings may at first seem contradictory to the findings 

in relation to psychological well-being and the 

Dream just discussed, when one considers that psychological 

composure is positively correlated to depression 

and negatively correlated with anxiety and 

considers these findings in relation to those on the 

psychological well-being dimension, one finds that 

they are quite consistent (see Fig. 1). Taken in combination, 

having fulfilled the Dream is associated 

with the highest psychological well-being and com-


posure, indicating the greatest psychological health 

and contentment. Having no early Dream is associated 

with less psychological well-being and the least 

psychological composure, indicating less satisfaction 

and adjustment, with a tendency to experience high 

negative psychological arousal. Having an unfulfilled 

Dream is associated with least psychological well-being 

and composure, indicating poor psychological 

health coupled with negative psychological arousal, 

while having given up the Dream is associated with 

the most psychological composure and least psychological 

well-being. In this instance, given this particular 

combination and the dampening of psychological 

arousal captured by the psychological composure dimension, 

this finding is indicative of poor psychological 

health accompanied by a sense of hopelessness. 

These results partially support Levinson et al.'s 

(1979) theory in that women's lives do appear to be 

enriched by fulfilling the Dream, and this sense of 

achievement greatly enhances adjustment during the 

Midlife Transition. Conversely, giving up the Dream 

tends to make for a considerably more turbulent 

transition in which well-being and hope appear considerably 

reduced as a result of grappling with the 

disillusionment of a failed Dream and consequent 

self-doubt. The present findings in this respect also 

support Drebing et al.'s (1995) findings that those 

having given up the Dream fare worst in terms of 

psychological health at midlife. 

Levinson et al. (1979) suggested, however, that 

having no early Dream is akin to being adrift in a 

sea with no real direction and that this lack of purpose 

will be associated with a sense of emptiness and 

meaninglessness at midlife. A lack of meaning has 

been associated with psychopathology and reduced 

well-being (Yalom, 1980; cited in O'Connor & Chamberlain, 

1996), and as having a Dream is said to infuse 

one's life with purpose and meaning, it was 

expected that having no early Dream would be associated 

with least psychological well-being and that 

women who had yet to fulfill their early Dream 

would fair similarly to those who had fulfilled their 

Dream (Levinson et al., 1979). However, women in 

the present study without an early Dream were found 

to have moderately high levels of psychological wellbeing, 

higher than those who had yet to realize their 

Dream. Those with unfulfilled Dreams were as low 

on psychological well-being as those women having 

given up their Dream. 

These findings were somewhat unexpected. 

However they seem to suggest that not forming an 

early Dream leaves women less vulnerable to the 

shattered expectations of a Dream given up or the 

frustrations of an unfulfilled Dream. If one has not 

formed a Dream for one's life, one is less likely to 

experience disappointment at falling short of an anticipated 

ideal and may perhaps during the midlife 

review be more able to appreciate what unexpected 

surprises life has thrown one. However, women with 

no early Dream did experience greater levels of 

negative arousal than women with unfulfilled 

Dreams. Therefore, while they might experience 

relatively greater psychological health and satisfaction, 

there seemed to be a strong underlying anxiety. 

Perhaps there lie the rumblings of a sense of purposelessness 

and existential doubt. 

Battista and Almond (1973, cited in O'Conner 

et al., 1996) have suggested that those who experience 

life as meaningful view life from a consciously 

articulated framework or goal. Perhaps those with no 

Dream have instead developed a framework or philosophy 

that enables them to derive meaning from 

life but one which, being a philosophy that may be 

considered more passive than a Dream, has a more 

limited motivational component of meaning. For example, 

it may be that a common philosophy among 

such people is to take life as it comes, in which case 

they may approach life less rigidly and demandingly, 

allowing them a greater spontaneity and openness to 

experience that at midlife—despite an underlying 

lack of purpose and its associated anxiety—provides 

a greater sense of satisfaction than what is experienced 

by those who have clung doggedly to and invested 

great meaning in a Dream that has ultimately 

proved fantasy or frustratingly unattainable. Alternatively, 

as the majority of women in this study were 

mothers, it may be that children provide a source of 

meaning and well-being for those without a Dream, 

and that as midlife sees children moving away and 

forming their own lives, these women may only just 

be becoming aware of an underlying void in aspects 

of their lives. 

It appears that, for this sample of women at 

least, having an early Dream was of benefit to psychological 

well-being during the Midlife Transition 

only if that Dream is fulfilled. When the Dream is 

first formed, it is an image of reality not yet existing, 

a desired end state that provides the motivation for 

behaviors by creating a state of need. If it cannot be 

realized, or proves difficult to convert into something 

real and concrete after prolonged trying and the individual 

refuses to adjust down, there may arise frus-


tration and doubt (Langan-Fox, 1991). Consequently, 

the women with unfulfilled Dreams in this study may 

have been on the cusp of disillusionment and realizing 

that perhaps their goal was unattainable given 

their stage in life. It would be of interest to determine 

whether this were so in future research. Drebing 

et al. (1995), in their study of the Dream and 

midlife women, included a question designed to determine 

participants' confidence in accomplishing 

their current Dream and found that anticipated failure 

of the Dream was positively correlated to anxiety 

and depression. As previously discussed, however, 

Drebing et al.'s (1995) study was essentially confounded 

in relation to stable/current/unfulfilled 

Dream. 

In controlling current Dream, the present study 

clearly distinguished between those women having a 

new Dream for entry into Middle Adulthood and 

those having a stable, as yet unfulfilled early Dream. 

Consequently, in contrast to Drebing et al. (1995), 

our findings clearly showed only 14% of women with 

unfulfilled Dreams, thereby indicating that, despite 

the greater complexity of their Dreams, the majority 

of women by midlife were in a position to adequately 

reflect on their Dream with most either having fulfilled 

their early Dream or given it up in favor of a 

more realistic Dream for Middle Adulthood. 

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR 

FUTURE RESEARCH 

With regard to Dream Success, it would be interesting 

to examine more closely those without an 

early Dream in order to determine if these people 

do develop some sort of philosophy in place of a 

Dream. This might involve a study of their sources 

of meaning, or a questionnaire item relating to their 

philosophy of life which could be scored for content 

as done with the Dream. Also, in order to determine 

more clearly whether or not the associated reduced 

well-being and negative psychological arousal of 

women with unfulfilled Dreams at midlife is attributable 

to high levels of frustration and failing optimism, 

it would be of interest to examine levels of 

frustration as well as anticipated Dream success in 

participants with unfulfilled early Dreams. It would 

also be of interest to examine more closely the development 

of the current Dream and how it might 

influence adjustment to Middle Adulthood. 

It may be a basic quality of human nature to 

never be content, and during the Midlife Transition 

we are especially vulnerable as through a combination 

of social forces and biology we are confronted 

with a mirror on our lives and selves that brings us 

to reflect on both our wisdom and folly. In accord 

with this, it appears from this study that women are 

grappling with issues relating to the choices they 

made in Early Adulthood regarding the various and 

unique ways they tried to implement aspects of themselves 

and the Dream within their broader life structure. 

However, it would appear that women who 

formed a life structure through their Early Adulthood 

that enabled them to fully express and realize 

their early Dream are the most likely to experience 

the Midlife Transition positively and with the greatest 

sense of satisfaction and well-being. In contrast, the 

present findings suggest that the least content at 

midlife are the women who struggle on with an unfulfilled 

early Dream as they enter their Middle 

Adulthood and those who through poor choices or 

life circumstances have had to give up their early 

Dream. 

Overall, however, in having applied Levinson et 

al.'s (1979) theory of adult development to women, 

the present study has generally found support for 

his theory in relation to the Dream in women's lives. 

As found for men, women appear to formulate a 

Dream during their Early Adult Transition and 

through their Early Adult years attempt to build life 

structures around to realize the Dream. Despite 

women's Dreams generally being much more complex 

than found for men to date, women by the 

midlife transitional period appear nevertheless ready 

to reflect on the place of their early Dream and to 

what extent they have succeeded or failed, the implications 

of which, as theorized by Levinson et al. 

(1979), show a definite impact on women's psychological 

well-being and adjustment through the 

Midlife Transition. Furthermore, as found for men, 

women at this point in their lives have usually begun 

the psychological preparation for entry into Middle 

Adulthood as reflected in the formation of a new 

or more realistic current Dream by the majority of 

the women in the present study. The results of the 

present study do, however, query Levinson et al.'s 

(1979) presumed lack of meaning in the lives of individuals 

having no early Dream and in turn reveals 

the risk in attempting to stay with tired and unrealistic 

Dreams during this time of potentially great 

personal growth.


REFERENCES 

Adelmann, P. K. (1993). Psychological well being and homemaker 

vs. retiree identity among older women. Sex Roles, 29, 195- 

210. 

Baltes, P. B. (1987). Theoretical propositions of life span developmental 

psychology: on the dynamics between growth and decline. 

Developmental Psychology, 23, 611-626. 

Chi-Ching, Y. (1995). The effects of career salience and life-cycle 

variables on perceptions of work-family interfaces. Human 

Relations, 48, 265-283. 

Coleman, L. M., & Antonucci, T C. (1983). Impact of work on 

women at midlife. Developmental Psychology, 19(2), 290-294. 

Drebing, C. E., Gooden, W E., Van De Kemp, H., & Malony, H. 

N. (1995). The Dream in midlife women: Its impact on mental 

health. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 

40, 73-87. 

Erikson, E. H. (1950). Childhood and society. New York: Norton. 

Freysinger, V J. (1995). The dialectics of leisure and development 

for women and men in mid-life: An interpretive study. Journal 

of Leisure Research, 27, 61-84. 

Gergen, M. M. (1990). Finished at 40: Women's development 

within the patriarchy. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 14, 471- 

493. 

Gilbert, L. R. (1993). Faces of women and aging. Women and Therapy, 

14, 105-115. 

Labouvie-Vief, G., Orwoll, L., & Manion, M. (1995). Narratives 

of mind, gender, and the life course. Human Development, 

38, 239-257. 

Langan-Fox, J. (1991). Motivation and the self concept: persisting 

goals of young women and men. International Journal of Psychology, 

26, 409-427. 

Levinson, D. J. (1986). A conception of adult development. American 

Psychologist, 41, 3-12. 

Levinson, D. J. (1996). The seasons of a woman's life. New York: 

Alfred A. Knopf. 

Levinson, D. J., Darrow, C. N., Klein, E. B., Levinson, M. H., & 

McKee, B. (1979). The seasons of a man's life. New York: Alfred 

A. Knopf. 

Maynard, M. (1993). A comparison of female professionals' role 

profiles with occupational adjustment and life satisfaction. 

Journal of Employment Counseling, 30, 133-142. 

Neugarten, B. L., Havighurst, R. J., & Tobin, S. (1961). The measurement 

of life satisfaction. Journal of Gerontology, 16, 134- 

143. 

Newton, E M. (1994). Daniel Levinson and his theory of adult 

development: A reminiscence and some clarifications. Journal 

of Adult Development, 3, 135-147. 

O'Connor, K., & Chamberlain, K. (1996). Dimensions of life 

meaning: A qualitative investigation at mid-life. British Journal 

of Psychology, 87, 461-477. 

Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D Scale: A self report depression 

scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological 

Measurement 1, 385-401. 

Roberts, P., & Newton, P. M. (1987). Levinsonian studies of 

women's adult development. Psychology and Aging, 2, 154- 

163. 

Robinson, J. P., Shaver, R R., & Wrightsman, L. S. (1991). Measures 

of personality and social psychological attitudes (Vol. 1, pp. 

77-82, 121-123, 199-204). New York: Harcourt Brace 

Jovanovich. 

Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton: 

Princeton University Press. 

Rossi, A. S. (1980). Life-span theories and women's lives. Journal 

of Women in Culture and Society, 6, 4-31. 

Sheehy, G. (1976). Passages. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Clarke, Irwin 

and Co. 

Smart, R., & Peterson, C. (1994). Stability versus transition in 

women's career development: A test of Levinson's theory. 

Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 45, 241-260. 

Spielberger, C. D., Gorsuch, R. C., & Lushene, R. E. (1970). Manual 

for the state-trait anxiety inventory. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting 

Psychologists Press. 

Spielberger, C. D., Gorsuch, R. C., Lushene, R., Vagg, P. R., & 

Jacobs, G. A. (1983). Manual for state-trait anxiety inventory 

(Form Y) (pp. 3-4, 12-18). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists 

Press.

Critique of Levinson's theory in relation to women

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?