VISTAS Online is an innovative publication produced for ACA by Dr. Garry R. Walz and Dr. Jeanne C. Bleuer of Counseling Outfitters, LLC. Its purpose is to provide a means of capturing the ideas, information and experiences generated by the annual ACA Conference and selected ACA Division Conferences. Papers on a program or practice that has been validated through research or experience may also be submitted. This digital collection of peer-reviewed articles is authored by counselors, for counselors. VISTAS Online contains the full text of over 900 proprietary counseling articles published from 2004 to 2017.
2017
Testing Levinson’s Theory Using a Sample of Mothers in the Criminal Justice System
Sylvia Lindinger-Sternart, John Laux, Sachin Jain, and Shannon Kakkar
2017
The ability of mothers in the criminal justice system to obtain stable employment upon release has been shown to be a crucial aspect for successful reentry into society. Stable employment is a key predictor of mothers’ success in their transition from the criminal justice system back into society. Levinson’s theory was used to determine if life eras predicted mothers’ (N = 1,040) career needs related to education, employment, and counseling. This study failed to support Levinson’s theory. Specifically, mothers in the criminal justice system did not differ, by age, on their education needs, employment needs, or career counseling needs.
Keywords: Levinson, mothers, women, criminal justice system