Identity and the Self in Elderly Adults with Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by the gradual loss of memory, ultimately progressing to forgetting who one is and has been. From a symbolic interactionist perspective, the progression of this disease raises the question of what happens to the “self” as part of an interactive social process with others. Our exploratory study of elders with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s indicates that, while identities grounded in memories and roles will fade as a person loses their ability to remember people and events, habitual and behavioral aspects of identity that reflect one’s personhood may persist longer. Thirty-two elders in Canada and the United States, plus 20 of their caregivers, participated in a qualitative interview. Results indicated that even people with very impaired memory still reacted to situations in ways congruent with their past identities, although they often did not remember the identities themselves. Viewing this phenomenon sociologically informs our understanding of the formation and disintegration of self.