Decline or successful ageing discourses. When local knowledge and dominant discourses intersect to shape personal stories of ageing

The decline and successful ageing discourses are key contemporary discourses of ageing, which provide contrasting identities for older people. Although the successful ageing discourse now appears to be globally dominant in policy and beyond, people engagement with both these discourses varies by culture. People draw on discourses that are culturally available and legitimated in their contexts to produce ageing identities. This study aimed explores the interaction between local understandings and the dominant discourses of ageing, focusing on how these shape personal stories about ageing and the subject positions provided by the discourses among older people who need family care. Applying positioning-discursive analysis to the narrative data of older people and their family members who are co-resident in 11 multigenerational households in Bali, we identified culturally available discursive resources and their use in self-positioning and positioning by others. Four subject positions were identified, namely frail and vulnerable old person, disengaged and dependent family member, compliant patient, and unsuccessful ager. We found that both ‘decline’ and ‘successful ageing’ discourses were used to legitimate a positive identity for being an old person in decline. These findings contradict previous research from different socio- cultural context which described pressure and shame among older people who could not achieve successful ageing ideals. The policy implications and the importance of a life-course preventive approach to facilitate ageing well are discussed. Keywords: ageing identities, cultural knowledge, decline discourse, positioning – discursive analysis, successful ageing.