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Adoptees' responses to separation from, and reunion with, their adoptive parent at age 4 years is associated with long-term persistence of autism symptoms following early severe institutional deprivation
2020 · United Kingdom; Romania (origin)
Researchers related attachment responses at age four in 97 Romanian adoptees and 49 UK adoptees to symptoms followed into young adulthood. In the more deprived group, an insecure/other attachment classification was associated with more persistent autism symptoms. The association weakened after accounting for early IQ, suggesting a possible marker rather than proof of a causal attachment effect.
Adoptees’ views and experiences of direct-to-consumer genomic testing
2023 · United Kingdom
Ten UK adult adoptees were interviewed about DNA testing, including motivations, health and ancestry information, birth-relative contact, privacy and the meaning of results.
Adopting Minds — a mentalization-based therapy for families in a post-adoption support service: preliminary evaluation and service user experience
2018 · United Kingdom research context (sample geography not specified in abstract)
A preliminary evaluation studied 36 families referred to Adopting Minds, a six-session mentalization-based family therapy service, and interviewed five families completing therapy. Available before-and-after data showed improvements in mental health and parental confidence. Parents described a supportive setting, though some wanted longer or additional treatment.
Adoption and child protection trends for children aged under five in England: Increasing investigations and hidden separation of children from their parents
2019 · England
The researchers compared child-protection and adoption-related service data for two groups of children reaching their fifth birthday in 2011–12 and 2016–17. More children in the later group had been investigated before age five, while investigations were less likely to result in a child-protection plan. The proportion separated from their parents increased, with differences between local authorities in adoption and child-protection patterns.
Adoption and cognitive development: a meta-analytic comparison of adopted and nonadopted children's IQ and school performance
2005 · International
This meta-analysis combined 62 studies involving 17,767 adopted children and compared cognitive and educational outcomes with several different comparison groups. Adopted children performed better than children who remained in institutional care or their birth families; compared with non-adopted peers in their current environments, IQ was similar overall, while school performance and language outcomes lagged and learning problems were more common. The choice of comparison group is therefore central to understanding the findings.
Adoption and development from infancy to adulthood: A systematic review of longitudinal studies and future directions
2026 · United Kingdom; international
A review of 16 longitudinal studies covering 3,073 adoptees examined development from adoption before age six into adolescence or adulthood. It includes English and Romanian Adoptees research. Early adversity and early developmental difficulties were associated with later emotional and behavioural outcomes, although developmental trajectories varied.
Adoption and the Inter-agency Fee
2009 · England
The researchers examined adoption-agency finances and activity to investigate how inter-agency fees related to service costs. Financial records were combined with agency information and interviews. They found difficulties comparing local-authority accounts across years because of restructuring, and differences in the detail available from local authorities and voluntary agencies. The report assesses the financial arrangements affecting placement services.
Adoption as a solution to intractable parenting problems: Evidence from two English studies
2009 · England
The paper draws on two English studies: a cohort of 130 children aged three to eleven recommended for adoption, and research into minority ethnic children’s pathways to permanence. Delays were associated with whether adoption occurred. In the first study, adopted and long-term fostered children differed little on several psychosocial outcomes, although attachment outcomes favoured the adopted group.
Adoption Barometer 2026: adopted teenagers and young adults
2026 · United Kingdom
Seventy-three adopted people aged 16–25 reported on education, mental-health support, identity, early-life information and peer support.
Adoption Barometer 2026: adult adoptees
2026 · United Kingdom
The survey included 451 adult adoptees and covered records, tracing and reunion, mental-health and therapeutic support, and peer support.
Adoption Breakdown: Concept, Research, and Implications
2019 · International review including United Kingdom
This review draws together journal papers, chapters and reports about adoption breakdown, including UK research. It examines inconsistent terminology and methods, reported breakdown rates, and child, family and service characteristics associated with breakdown.
Adoption cases reviewed: an indicative study of process and practice
2013 · England
Researchers reconstructed twelve closed, contested adoption cases from local-authority and court files across five authorities and three court areas in England. Children waited 13–49 months from entry to care to adoption placement. The analysis described variations in decision-making, evidence preparation and oversight along these journeys.
Adoption in the child welfare system — A cross-country analysis of child welfare workers’ recommendations for or against adoption
2012 · England; Norway; United States (California)
Workers in England, Norway and California considered the same hypothetical case of a three-year-old child in foster care. Most recommended adoption. Their explanations emphasised birth-parent behaviour, missed visits, permanence and attachment. Recommendations and reasoning differed across countries and reflected their policy settings. This is evidence about professional decisions, rather than outcomes experienced by children.
Adoption in the Era of Secrecy: Practical and Ethical Challenges Facing Adult Adoptees in the Search for Birth Families
2024 · UK; regional breakdown unverified
Interviews with eleven adults explored how they sought birth information and contacted relatives after growing up with adoption secrecy. Narrative analysis using a life-course perspective described barriers to information, limited emotional support and decisions about searching. Some participants continued their searches without professional help.
Adoption openness and adoption stigma: a retrospective study of adult adoptees
2022 · International / Europe
Fourteen adult adoptees were interviewed about openness and adoption-related challenges. Themes included secrecy, expectations for open communication, stigma and adoption microaggressions. Participants supplied their own accounts of how adoption is discussed and socially experienced.
Adoption UK’s Schools & Exclusions Report
2017 · United Kingdom, predominantly England
Parents supplied 2,084 responses, each about one adopted child, in an October 2017 survey. The report analyses special educational needs, formal and informal exclusions and school moves. Respondents reported exclusion and interrupted schooling, with country-specific comparisons to official statistics, including England and Wales.
Adoption, Search and Reunion: The Long Term Experience of Adopted Adults
2003 · United Kingdom
The research follows adopted adults involved in searching for, or being contacted by, birth relatives and examines motivations, reunion, relationships with birth and adoptive family members and experiences over time.
Adoptive family experiences of post-adoption contact in an Internet era
2017 · United Kingdom (regional recruitment not established)
Semi-structured interviews with six adopted young people and eleven adoptive parents explored online contact with birth relatives. The analysis described both opportunities and difficulties in virtual contact, including the relevance of boundaries and differing interests.
Adoptive Gay Father Families: A Longitudinal Study of Children’s Adjustment at Early Adolescence
2021 · United Kingdom research context (sample geography not specified in abstract)
At early adolescence, researchers followed 33 gay-father, 35 lesbian-mother and 43 heterosexual-parent adoptive families from a UK study. Parents, children and teachers supplied assessments. There were few differences between family types, while adjustment difficulties had increased across groups. Better parenting and parental mental health were associated with fewer difficulties.
Adoptive Gay Father Families: Parent–Child Relationships and Children's Psychological Adjustment
2014 · United Kingdom research context (sample geography not specified in abstract)
A UK study compared 41 gay-father, 40 lesbian-mother and 49 heterosexual-parent families with adopted children aged 3–9. Interviews, observations and questionnaires included parents, children and teachers. Gay-father families showed more positive parenting and parental wellbeing than heterosexual-parent families; parenting stress rather than family type predicted child externalising difficulties.