Possessions allow us to understand and to express our self‐identity. For the elderly, possessions are also important repositories of memories of one's self‐identity in the past, especially when opportunities for the external validation of self are limited, for example, as a result of institutionalisation. The present study explored the relationship between possessions and self‐identity for elderly women in (a) their own homes, (b) a residential unit, and (c) a nursing home. Ten women in each residential setting were interviewed about the meaning and value of their possessions. Qualitative analysis revealed five themes relating to self‐identity (memories of people, memories from gifted possessions, memories of creator, memories of time or place, possessions as part of self)‐The responses of the three groups of women for each of these themes are discussed.
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Cram et al. (1993) studied this question.