The psychological implications of forced adoption: A scoping review
This scoping review mapped 27 publications on psychological experiences following forced adoption. Nine concerned adoptees and eighteen birth mothers. The adoptee-focused evidence described trauma and attachment difficulties, identity loss, limited belonging and isolation. Most included studies were qualitative and came from several countries, including UK research.
Limitations: This database summary covers the adoptee evidence, not birth mothers’ own experiences. The review’s parent-focused search terms may limit retrieval of adoptee research. International findings cannot be treated as England/Wales prevalence or causal estimates. Reviewed primary studies, including Dalton’s paper, may already be recorded separately.
- Research type
- Scoping review
- Source reviewed
- Full text
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Age group
- Adults
Study context and review
Age group as recorded: Adults
Adoption context: Mixed adoption pathways
Programme: Not recorded
Institutional context: No relationship identified in the material checked
No adoption-sector organisational relationship identified from metadata reviewed. Funding and conflicts were not comprehensively audited; this is not confirmation of institutional independence.
Bibliographic screening. Bibliographic relationships are not a bias or safety rating.
Topics: Evidence synthesis, Forced adoption, historical adoption, identity, mental health
Review scope: Source checked: Full text. This does not imply full-text or independent human verification.
Country as recorded: International (includes UK studies)
- Funding
- Not yet checked for this entry
- Commissioner
- Not yet checked for this entry
- Funder role
- Not yet checked for this entry
- Declared conflicts
- Not yet checked for this entry
- Recruitment
- Not yet checked for this entry
- Adoptee involvement
- Not yet checked for this entry
Entry: study_2f3bdb8db845b82a