Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-14T21:26:16.809Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Constructions of older people's identities in Indonesian regional ageing policies: the impacts on micro and macro experiences of ageing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2021

Made Diah Lestari Open the ORCID record for Made Diah Lestari [Opens in a new window] ,
Christine Stephens Open the ORCID record for Christine Stephens [Opens in a new window]  and
Tracy Morison
Made Diah Lestari*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand Department of Psychology, Medical Faculty, Udayana University, Bali, Indonesia
Christine Stephens
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Tracy Morison
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

As Indonesia experiences rapid growth of the ageing population, the government's attention has turned to the wellbeing of older people. This study aims to review critically the construction of older people's identity and care within regional ageing policies in Indonesia. Working from a critical gerontology perspective, a critical discourse analysis of 16 regional ageing policies identified two constructions, labelled ‘material’ and ‘cultural’ ageing, which were used to position older people. The analysis showed that ‘material ageing’ positions older people at the intersection of ‘decline’ and ‘successful ageing’ discourses, while ‘cultural ageing’ positions older people's welfare at the intersection of ‘public responsibility’ and ‘family obligation’ discourses. These discursive constructions in the policy documents have both micro (interpersonal) and macro (structural) constructive effects. At the micro-level, the regional ageing policies stand at a crossroad between empowering and marginalising older people and their families. While the dominant discourse of ‘successful ageing’ encourages older people to be healthy, it marginalises those who do not, or cannot, meet its criteria, undermining a rehabilitative approach as a policy priority. In addition, the rights of the family are overlooked, despite being a pivotal element of cultural ageing. At the macro level, a moral dilemma appears in defining the public and private domains of older people's welfare. Eligibility requirements for state assistance (due to budgetary constraints) ensure that elder care is often relegated to the private sphere, without support. Recommendations for policy improvement are discussed, including the recognition of families’ rights and the importance of local cultural practices in providing care for older people.

Keywords

ageing policycritical discourse analysiscritical gerontologyolder people's identityolder people's care
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 42 , Issue 9 , September 2022 , pp. 2046 - 2066
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abikusno, N (2005) The elderly of Indonesia: current policy and programmes. Bold 15, 2, 18–22.Google Scholar
Adioetomo, SM and Mujahid, G (2014) Indonesia on the Threshold of Population Ageing (Monograph No. 1). Jakarta: UNFPA Indonesia.Google Scholar
Adioetomo, SM, Cicih, LHM, Asmanedi, and Toersilaningsih, S (2018) Menjadi lansia: Antara anugerah dan tantangan. In Adioetomo, SM and Pardede, EL (eds), Memetik Bonus Demografi: Membangun Manusia Sejak Dini. Jakarta: Rajawali Pers, pp. 293–335.Google Scholar
Agustina, R, Dartanto, T, Sitompul, R, Susiloretni, KA, Suparmi, Achadi, EL, Taher, A, Wirawan, F, Sungkar, S, Sudarmono, P, Shankar, AH, Thabrany, H and Indonesian Health Systems Group (2019) Universal health coverage in Indonesia: concept, progress, and challenges. Lancet 393, 75–102.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Andi, FA (2016) Analysis of national health insurance towards a universal health insurance. Kajian Ekonomi dan Keuangan 19, 63–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arifianto, A (2004) Public Policy Towards the Elderly in Indonesia: Current Policy and Future Directions. Jakarta: SMERU Research Institute.Google Scholar
Baars, J (2017) Aging: learning to live a finite life. The Gerontologist 57, 969–976.Google ScholarPubMed
Baars, J and Phillipson, C (2013) Connecting meaning with social structure: theoretical foundation. In Baars, J, Dohmen, J, Grenier, A and Phillipson, C (eds), Ageing, Meaning and Social Structure: Connecting Critical and Humanistic Gerontology. Bristol, UK: Policy Press, pp. 11–30.Google Scholar
Baars, J, Dohmen, J, Grenier, A and Phillipson, C (eds) (2013) Ageing, Meaning and Social Structure: Connecting Critical and Humanistic Gerontology. Bristol, UK: Policy Press.Google Scholar
Bell, GF (2003) Indonesia: the new regional autonomy laws, two years later. Southeast Asian Affairs 2003, 117–131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biggs, S (2001) Toward critical narrativity stories of aging in contemporary social policy. Journal of Aging Studies 15, 303–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biggs, S (2005) Beyond appearances: perspectives on identity in later life and some implications for method. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 60B, S118–S128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biggs, S and Powell, JL (2001) A Foucauldian analysis of old age and the power of social welfare. Journal of Aging & Social Policy 12, 93–112.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bloom, DE, Canning, D and Lubet, A (2015) Global population aging: facts, challenges, solutions & perspectives. Daedalus 144, 80–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Breheny, M and Stephens, C (2019) Social policy and social identities for older people. In O'Doherty, KC and Hodgetts, D (eds), The SAGE Handbook of Applied Psychology. London: Sage, pp. 347–365.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bülow, MH and Söderqvist, T (2014) Successful ageing: a historical overview and critical analysis of a successful concept. Journal of Aging Studies 31, 139–149.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cole, TR (1992) The Journey of Life: A Cultural History of Aging in America. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Direktorat Perlindungan Sosial dan Kesejahteraan Masyarakat Kementrian PPN/Bappenas (2015) Perlindungan Sosial Lanjut Usia. Jakarta: Bappenas.Google Scholar
Estes, CL (1999 a) Critical gerontology and the new political economy of aging. In Minkler, M and Estes, CL (eds), Critical Gerontology: Perspectives from Political and Moral Economy. Amityville, NY: Baywood Publishing Company, pp. 17–35.Google Scholar
Estes, CL (1999 b) The ageing enterprise revisited. In Minkler, M and Estes, CL (eds), Critical Gerontology: Perspectives from Political and Moral Economy. Amityville, NY: Baywood Publishing Company, pp. 135–146.Google Scholar
Estes, CL (ed.) (2001) Social Policy & Aging: A Critical Perspective. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Estes, CL (2011) Crises and old age policy. In Settersten, RA and Angel, JL (eds), Handbook of Sociology of Aging (Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research). New York, NY: Springer, pp. 297–320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Estes, CL, Linkins, KW and Binney, EA (2001 a) Critical perspectives on aging. In Estes, CL (ed.), Social Policy & Aging: A Critical Perspective. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, pp. 23–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Estes, CL, Mahakian, JL and Weitz, TA (2001 b) A political economy critique of ‘productive aging’. In Estes, CL (ed.), Social Policy & Aging: A Critical Perspective. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, pp. 187–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans-Agnew, RA, Johnson, S, Liu, F and Boutain, DM (2016) Applying critical discourse analysis in health policy research: case studies in regional, organizational, and global health. Policy, Politics & Nursing Practice 17, 136–146.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fairclough, N (1995) Critical Discourse Analysis: The Critical Study of Language. New York, NY: Longman.Google Scholar
Fairclough, N (1998) Discourse and Social Change. Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Fealy, G, McNamara, M, Treacy, MP and Lyons, I (2012) Constructing ageing and age identities: a case study of newspaper discourses. Ageing & Society 32, 85–102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fitriana, KN and Ahdiyana, M (2017) Social policy evaluation on social welfare improvement of neglected elderly. Jurnal PKS 16, 1–10.Google Scholar
Giddens, A (1991) Modernity and Self-identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Gilleard, C and Higgs, P (2011) Ageing abjection and embodiment in the fourth age. Journal of Aging Studies 25, 135–142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilleard, C and Higgs, P (2013) The fourth age and the concept of a ‘social imaginary’: a theoretical excursus. Journal of Aging Studies 27, 368–376.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hacking, I (2000) The Social Construction of What?, Revised Edn. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hazra, NC, Gulliford, MC and Rudisill, C (2018) ‘Fair innings’ in the face of ageing and demographic change. Health Economics, Policy and Law 13, 209–217.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hodgetts, D, Chamberlain, K and Bassett, G (2003) Between television and the audience: negotiating representations of ageing. Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness and Medicine 7, 417–438.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holstein, MB and Minkler, M (2003) Self, society, and the ‘new gerontology’. The Gerontologist 43, 787–796.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hsu, M, Liao, PJ and Zhao, M (2018) Demographic change and long-term growth in China: past developments and the future challenge of aging. Review of Development Economics 22, 928–952.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hugo, G (1991) Aging: a new challenge for Indonesia. Ageing International 18, 20–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hugo, G (1992) Ageing in Indonesia: a neglected area of policy concern. In Phillips, DR (ed.), Ageing in East and South-East Asia. London: Edward Arnold, pp. 207–230.Google Scholar
Hugo, G (2000) Lansia – elderly people in Indonesia at the turn of the century. In Phillips, DR (ed.), Ageing in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Policies and Future Trends. London: Routledge, pp. 299–321.Google Scholar
Kadar, KS, Francis, K and Sellick, K (2013) Ageing in Indonesia – health status and challenges for the future. Ageing International 38, 261–270.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Katz, S (2008) Thinking of age: personal reflections on critical gerontology. Journal of Aging Studies 22, 140–146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kementerian Kesehatan Republik Indonesia (2016) Peraturan Menteri Kesehatan Republik Indonesia nomor 25 tahun 2016. Jakarta: Kementerian Kesehatan Republik Indonesia.Google Scholar
Kemp, CL and Denton, M (2003) The allocation of responsibility for later life: Canadian reflections on the roles of individuals, government, employers and families. Ageing & Society 23, 737–760.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kidd, S, Gelders, B, Rahayu, SK, Larasati, D, Huda, K and Siyaranamual, M (2018) Perlindungan Sosial Bagi Penduduk Lanjut Usia di Indonesia. Jakarta: Tim Nasional Percepatan Penanggulangan Kemiskinan and Australian Government.Google Scholar
Kohli, M (1987) Retirement and the moral economy: an historical interpretation of the German case. Journal of Aging Studies 1, 125–144.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kydd, A, Fleming, A, Gardner, S and Hafford-Letchfield, T (2018) Ageism in the third age. In Ayalon, L and Tesch-Römer, C (eds), Contemporary Perspectives on Ageism (International Perspectives on Aging). Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, pp. 115–130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Locke, T (2004) Critical Discourse Analysis. London, UK: Continuum, Cromwell Press.Google Scholar
Loser, C, Fajgenbaum, J, Kohli, HA and Vilkelyte, I (2017) How aging societies may affect global growth prospects. Global Journal of Emerging Market Economies 9, 38–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minkler, M (1990) Aging and disability: behind and beyond the stereotypes. Journal of Aging Studies 4, 245–260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minkler, M (1996) Critical perspectives on ageing: new challenges for gerontology. Ageing & Society 16, 467–487.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minkler, M and Cole, TR (1999) Political and moral economy: getting to know one another. In Minkler, M and Estes, CL (eds), Critical Gerontology: Perspectives from Political and Moral Economy. Amityville, NY: Baywood Publishing Company, pp. 37–49.Google Scholar
Minkler, M and Estes, CL (eds) (1999) Critical Gerontology: Perspectives from Political and Moral Economy. Amityville, NY: Baywood Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Murray, M, Pullman, D and Rodgers, TH (2003) Social representations of health and illness among ‘baby-boomers’ in eastern Canada. Journal of Health Psychology 8, 485–499.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Otsu, K and Shibayama, K (2016) Population aging and potential growth in Asia. Asian Development Review 33, 56–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pambudi, WE, Dewi, EI and Sulistyorini, L (2017) Pengaruh terapi aktivitas kelompok sosialisasi (TAKS) terhadap kemampuan interaksi sosial pada lansia dengan kesepian di pelayanan sosial lanjut usia (PSLU) Jember. Pustaka Kesehatan 5, 253–259.Google Scholar
Pangkahila, W (2007) Anti-aging Medicine: Memperlambat Penuaan Meningkatkan Hidup. Jakarta: Penerbit Buku Kompas.Google Scholar
Phillipson, C (2003) Globalisation and the future of ageing: developing a critical gerontology. Sociological Research Online 8, 1–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phillipson, C (2006) Aging and globalization: issues for critical gerontology and political economy. In Baars, J, Dannefer, D, Phillipson, C and Walker, A (eds), Aging, Globalization, and Inequality: The New Critical Gerontology. Amityville, NY: Baywood Publishing Company, pp. 43–58.Google Scholar
Pond, R, Stephens, C and Alpass, F (2010) Virtuously watching one's health: older adults’ regulation of self in the pursuit of health. Journal of Health Psychology 15, 734–743.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Powell, JL and Biggs, S (2003) Foucauldian gerontology: a methodology for understanding aging. Electronic Journal of Sociology 7, 1–9.Google Scholar
Priebe, J and Howell, F (2014) Old-age Poverty in Indonesia: Empirical Evidence and Policy Options (No. 07-2014). Jakarta: Tim Nasional Percepatan Penanggulangan Kemiskinan.Google Scholar
Rowe, JW and Kahn, RL (1987) Human aging: usual and successful. Science 237, 143–149.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rowe, JW and Kahn, RL (1997) Successful aging. The Gerontologist 37, 433–440.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rozanova, J (2010) Discourse of successful aging in The Globe & Mail: insights from critical gerontology. Journal of Aging Studies 24, 213–222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saputro, S, Rustama, A, Sudarsana, Kusnandar, Istiqomah, N, Khoiriyah, S, Tantri, D and Karyanta, NA (2015) Analisis Kebijakan Pemberdayaan dan Perlindungan Sosial Lanjut Usia. Jakarta: Deputi Bidang Koordinasi Penanggulangan Kemiskinan dan Perlindungan Sosial, Kementerian Koordinator Bidang Pembangunan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia.Google Scholar
Silviliyana, M, Maylasari, I, Agustina, R, Ramadani, KD, Sulistyowati, R, Annisa, L and Dewi, FWR (2018) Statistik Penduduk Lanjut Usia 2018. Jakarta: Badan Pusat Statistik.Google Scholar
Stenner, P, Mcfarquhar, T and Bowling, A (2011) Older people and ‘active ageing’: subjective aspects of ageing actively. Journal of Health Psychology 16, 467–477.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stephens, C, Breheny, M and Mansvelt, J (2015) Healthy ageing from the perspective of older people: a capability approach to resilience. Psychology & Health 30, 715–731.Google ScholarPubMed
Supriyanto, RW, Ramdhani, ER and Rahmadan, E (2014) Perlindungan Sosial di Indonesia: Tantangan dan Arah ke Depan. Jakarta: Direktorat Perlindungan and Kesejahteraan Masyarakat Kementrian PPN/Bappenas.Google Scholar
Syaiku, U (2002) Regional autonomy in Indonesia: field experiences. Paper presented at The June 7th PRSCO Summer Institute/The 4th IRSA International Conference: ‘Decentralization, Natural Resources, and Regional Development in the Pacific Rim’, Bali, Indonesia.Google Scholar
van Dyk, S (2014) The appraisal of difference: critical gerontology and the active-ageing-paradigm. Journal of Aging Studies 31, 93–103.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van Dyk, S (2016) The othering of old age: insights from postcolonial studies. Journal of Aging Studies 39, 109–120.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Walker, A (2006) Reexamining the political economy of aging: understanding the structure/agency tension. In Baars, J, Dannefer, D, Phillipson, C and Walker, A (eds), Aging, Globalization, and Inequality: The New Critical Gerontology. Amityville, NY: Baywood Publishing Company, pp. 59–80.Google Scholar
Walker, A and Naegele, G (2009) Social Policy in Ageing Societies: Britain and Germany Compared. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Wulan, RT (2011) Indonesia butuh lebih banyak studi anti-penuaan. VOA Indonesia. Available at https://www.voaindonesia.com/a/indonesia-butuh-lebih-banyak-studi--122054464/93342.html.Google Scholar