Clothing and self-esteem of the institutionalized elderly female: Two experiments

Thirty institutionalized elderly females participated in an investigation to assess the influence on the self-esteem of the respondents upon receiving clothing gifts (experiment A) and having a say in the clothing purchase process (experiment B). Panicucci’s (1984) framework on functional abilities assessment guided the research. A modified pretest-posttest design was used to conduct the research. Results indicated that the residents who received apparel items they had requested boosted their self-esteem significantly more than those who did not receive what they had requested. The findings supported the concept that having a say in the decision making process can enhance elderly persons’ selfesteem and thereby contribute to improving their quality of life. Several implications and possibilities for future research are discussed.