The Maintenance of Self-Esteem: Lessons from the Culture of Alzheimer’s Sufferers

Abstract

There is now an extensive body of research both on independent selves as conceived in western societies, and more recently on interdependent selves common to many non-western cultures. Instead of looking at the growth of self-esteem from a developmental angle, we focus on the issue of the maintenance of self-esteem as seen in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) sufferers. We use a case study approach to examine relations between AD sufferers and the non-afflicted, focusing on the strategies used by the former to maintain their sense of self-worth. Our analysis questions the suitability and logic of standard ways of conceptualizing and measuring self-esteem and points to the importance of discursive, normative aspects of revealing the details of self-worth.