Attachment to Personal Possessions: An Interpretive Study of the Older Person's Experience

Objective An exploratory study was undertaken to examine the role of personal possessions in older people's attachment to place. Research Design A qualitative research strategy was selected to gather descriptive data and to capture meanings of personal experience (Rowles and Reinharz, 1988). Over a ten–month period, multiple, in–depth interviews were conducted with a small sample of volunteer subjects in their homes. Analysis A phenomenological method of analysis based on procedures outlined by Giorgi (1985) was followed. Key Findings A complex pattern of attachment to possessions was revealed through discovery of two interpretive themes, connection/extension and continuity/discontinuity, that provide deeper understanding of the person–place phenomenon as experienced by the older person. Conclusion The study validates and extends other studies showing relationships between personal possessions and identity of older people. Attachment of a sense of self to micro–elements of the physical environment has crucial implications for place–making in the older person's residential setting.