| The primary purpose of this qualitative investigation was to determine if Daniel Levinson's (1978, 1996) theory of adult development demonstrates utility in understanding the experiences of second generation Chinese American women in the midlife transition (ages 40-55). Seven second generation Chinese American women aged 40-55 were interviewed using a semistructured question format. The researcher analyzed the interview data using thematic content analysis in order to identify relevant themes. Two assistants also analyzed the transcriptions of the interviews in order to identify relevant themes. These themes were compared with those found by the researcher in order to verify accuracy of the analysis. Cohen's kappa coefficient (Kvalseth, 1989) was computed in order to measure the amount of inter-rater reliability among the three raters. The participants were sent a summary of the themes identified from their individual interviews and were asked for feedback as to the accuracy of the themes. Results suggested that second generation Chinese American women do experience some similar psychological developmental milestones in midlife, as compared to European American women. Specifically, increased individuation, modification of the adult life structure, generativity, and increased introspectiveness were found. However, the women in this study did not report a midlife crisis, nor did they provide responses indicative of a reappraisal of the past and increased awareness of aging and mortality, as did European American women (Levinson, 1996). As well, Daniel Levinson's theory of development did not provide a comprehensive explanation of the relevant cultural factors that contribute to midlife development for this population. This study served as a starting point for more inquiry into the midlife development of second generation Chinese American women. |
