The significance of personal objects to older people.

This article reports on the meaning of personal objects to older persons. A sample of 88 elderly individuals were asked to name personally significant objects and discuss their meanings. Responses were analytically sorted into a number of thematically based categories including: objects symbolizing relationships with others past and present; objects as symbols of the self; those serving as defenses against loss and other deleterious changes; objects of care; representations of the past; and objects as the focus of mature sensuousness. The article supports the view that personal objects can play an important role in maintaining personal identity in late life and may function as a distinctive language for the expression of identity and personal meaning.