Which theme is characteristic of Levinson's theory?

• A. forming a career peak
• B. completing the age 30 transition
• C. discovering personal identity
• D. resolving midlife anxiety

Answer: (B)

Levinson’s theory centers on transitions that reorganize a person’s life structure in early adulthood. A central theme is the age thirty transition, the period around late twenties to early thirties when individuals reassess their life plan, compare their current reality to their early-life dreams, and make adjustments to career, relationships, and priorities. This reevaluation helps form a more stable structure for the next phase of life. The other ideas don’t capture this specific turning point: discovering personal identity aligns more with Erikson’s work, forming a career peak isn’t the distinctive focus of Levinson’s theory, and resolving midlife anxiety pertains to the later midlife transition rather than the critical shift around age 30.