Adult experiences
Studies including adulthood, parenthood and later life. Childhood outcomes are not a substitute for adult accounts.
These entries are grouped by terms in their titles, summaries and topics. This is a route through the database, not a systematic review.
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‘I started to feel not ashamed of who I was’: transracially adopted adults and adoption support
2014 · England
Researchers interviewed transracially adopted adults and held a lesbian, gay and bisexual focus group within an adoption-support evaluation. Accounts from 12 adults described what support meant to them and gaps in provision. The paper examines support needs linked to transracial adoption using participants’ own accounts.
A Prospective Study of the Impact of Severe Childhood Deprivation on Brain White Matter in Adult Adoptees: Widespread Localized Reductions in Volume But Unaffected Microstructural Organization
2022 · United Kingdom (regional breakdown not specified)
Researchers used brain imaging to compare 59 young adults adopted into UK families after Romanian institutional care with 20 non-deprived UK controls. They examined the size and internal organisation of brain white-matter pathways. Deprivation was associated with smaller volumes in several local areas, beyond differences in overall brain size. The imaging measures did not show altered microscopic organisation of the pathways studied.
A qualitative analysis of how therapists experience the therapeutic relationship with adults who were adopted as infants
2014 · United Kingdom
Six adoption counsellors were interviewed about therapy with adults adopted in infancy. Interpretative phenomenological analysis examined rejection within the therapeutic process, counsellors’ efforts to offer different relational experiences, and the personal and professional implications of this work.
A qualitative exploration of the experience and personal and professional impact of psychodynamic and integrative counselling training on adoptee counsellors
2024 · United Kingdom (regional coverage not specified in abstract)
Researchers interviewed four counsellors adopted before their first birthday: two trained in psychodynamic counselling and two in integrative counselling. Interpretative phenomenological analysis examined their training experiences. Themes concerned disclosure, their place in the world, relationships and reflection on themselves. Participants described training as helping them understand adoption-related identity and relationship difficulties.
Adopted Adults Who Search for Background Information and Contact with Birth Relatives
1997 · United Kingdom
Records for 366 adopted adults seeking background information or possible contact were analysed. The study describes reasons for seeking help, contact established and aspects of adoptive-family relationships.
Adopted children: evidence review for the Children's Commissioner
2017 · England
An evidence review for the Children's Commissioner assessed available UK outcome evidence for adopted children. It identified limited evidence, principally on educational attainment and social outcomes, and noted gaps in longitudinal and adult-outcome evidence at the time.
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.
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 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 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, 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.
Adult adoptees’ experiences of first name changes
2025 · England and Wales
Twenty-nine adult adoptees contributed accounts of first-name changes, including the significance of birth names and missing information about original names or why they were changed.
Adult disinhibited social engagement in adoptees exposed to extreme institutional deprivation
2017 · UK; Romania
ERA follow-up examined disinhibited social engagement from childhood into adulthood alongside neurodevelopmental and mental-health outcomes.
Adult psychosocial outcomes of men and women who were looked-after or adopted as children: prospective observational study
2018 · England
Using the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, researchers examined adult psychological and social outcomes in 8,775 women and 3,654 men recruited around Bristol during pregnancy and followed five years later. Adopted adults reported higher smoking rates than the reference group; adopted women also reported higher anxiety. People previously in public care generally had the poorest outcomes.
Adversity, adoption and afterwards: A mid-life follow-up study of women adopted from Hong Kong
2013 · United Kingdom; Hong Kong
This book examines women adopted from Hong Kong orphanages into UK families, following their lives into middle age. The publisher describes standardised outcome measures, comparisons with other adopted and non-adopted women, and qualitative interviews. Detailed findings are not summarised because the book itself was not reviewed.
Age at placement and adult adopted people's experience of being adopted
2001 · United Kingdom
A study of adults involved in search or reunion examined age at placement against reported belonging, difference, feeling loved and overall experience of adoption.
Age at placement, adoption experience and adult adopted people’s contact with their adoptive and birth mothers: an attachment perspective
2001 · United Kingdom (regional recruitment not established)
Adults described childhood adoption experiences and their current contact with adoptive mothers and, where reunion had occurred, birth mothers. Later placement was associated with less reported belonging and feeling loved, and less frequent later contact with both mothers. An attachment framework was used to interpret these associations.
An auto-ethnographic account of interactional practices in adoptive family relationships.
2019 · United Kingdom
An adoptee researcher used autoethnography to examine kinship and interactions with birth relatives and her adult adopted children. Accounts from ten women described as adoptees or adoptive mothers also informed the work. The thesis explores how relationships, gendered experiences and sensory memories shape negotiated and changing family identities across adulthood.
An exploration of the effectiveness of Educational Psychology consultation in supporting the development of emotional regulation skills in young people who have been adopted: A series of single subject case histories
2014 · United Kingdom (regional recruitment not established)
Four adopted young people aged 10–14 were studied in a mixed-methods evaluation of educational-psychology consultation. Young people, parents and school staff completed measures before and after consultation and weekly ratings; adults were also interviewed. The repository abstract describes the design but does not give the measured outcomes.
An Exploration of the Psychological Impact of Receiving Information from Genetic Testing and Screening for Adopted and Cared-For Individuals
2026 · United Kingdom
A review of five studies examined adopted and care-experienced adults’ responses to genetic information. Information could help fill identity gaps but could also create uncertainty and further searching. An empirical component interviewed six health and social care professionals about hypothetical genomic screening and later disclosure, identifying concerns about identity, relationships and isolation.
Assessing Community Connectedness and Self-Regard in a Mid-Life Follow-up of British Chinese Adoptions
2012 · United Kingdom research context (sample geography not specified in abstract)
Researchers studied community belonging, identity and self-regard among 72 Hong Kong-born women adopted into British families in the 1960s. They developed questionnaires and examined connections between community belonging and wellbeing alongside interviews. The abstract does not give specific association results.
Attachment state of mind and trauma in mother and baby home adoptees
2022 · United Kingdom / Ireland
Five adults aged over 55, adopted from mother and baby homes in the UK and Ireland, completed the Adult Attachment Interview. Researchers classified attachment states of mind and analysed interview themes. All five were classified as insecure and four as unresolved/disorganised. Their accounts concerned identity and belonging, trauma, silenced coping and adverse parenting.
Better Futures: Giving adopted young people an equal chance in further education
2020 · United Kingdom
Six adoptees aged 16–25 were interviewed and 76 adopted people aged 16 and over completed a survey about education. Participants described difficult school experiences, barriers to suitable college courses and uneven access to support. Some described supportive staff and settings. The report analyses transitions into further education and reasons for interrupted study.
Blood parenthood and the hierarchies of dispossession in English adoption cases, 1946–70
2026 · England
Using adoption cases, press coverage and medical, sociological and legal reports, this historical study examined changing definitions of child welfare between 1946 and 1970. The author argues that courts increasingly used medical opinion about children’s psychological welfare to justify adoption without parental consent, while some legal and philanthropic voices challenged coercive practices.
Child-to-adult neurodevelopmental and mental health trajectories after early life deprivation
2017 · UK; Romania
The English and Romanian Adoptees study found prolonged early institutional deprivation remained associated with autism-related, attention/overactivity and disinhibited-social-engagement symptoms into young adulthood. Some cognitive difficulties improved while emotional difficulties became more prominent later.
Childhood Adoption and Mental Health in Adulthood: UK Biobank
2019 · United Kingdom
UK Biobank data including 3,151 adoptees were used to examine adoption status alongside mental-health, psychosocial and socioeconomic measures and polygenic scores.
Childhood post-adoption experiences and long-term neurodevelopmental trajectories
2026 · UK; Romania
ERA data examined trajectories of autism, ADHD, disinhibited social engagement, cognition and mental health into young adulthood.
Children and Young People's Participation and Non-Participation in Research
2005 · United Kingdom
This review examined children’s involvement in adoption and fostering research recorded in the Quality Protects database. Of 72 relevant studies conducted since 1991, 38 involved children or young people. It examined reasons for participation, the influence of adults controlling access to children, and strategies used to enable participation. These gatekeeping decisions emerged as a barrier alongside ethical and methodological concerns.
Comparison of Adopted and Nonadopted Individuals Reveals Gene–Environment Interplay for Education
2020 · United Kingdom
Data from 6,311 adoptees in UK Biobank were used to compare genetic-score associations with educational attainment among adopted and non-adopted participants.
Contact after Adoption: A longitudinal study of post adoption contact arrangements
2015 · United Kingdom
A long-running UK study of adopted children, adoptive parents and birth relatives where post-adoption contact had been planned. The research followed children placed under age four from the preschool years through middle childhood and into later adolescence. It examined how different forms of contact were experienced, how contact affected children and adults, and how children's wishes and needs changed as they grew.
Curiosity and opportunities: The impact of accessing adoption information on adopted adults and the decision to search for birth relatives
2020 · England and Wales / Hong Kong-to-UK adoption
This doctorate by publication brings together nine publications from three studies undertaken during 1997–2013. Participants were mostly adopted in England and Wales, including women adopted from Hong Kong. The synthesis examines how curiosity about origins and opportunities to obtain information and find relatives interact across adoptees’ lives.
Damaged identity and the search for kinship in adult adoptees
1989 · United Kingdom
Seventy-six adults from an organisation helping adoptees trace origins were studied. The paper explores identity, searching and reunion and notably reports that discovering siblings was often experienced positively.
Early childhood deprivation is associated with alterations in adult brain structure despite subsequent environmental enrichment
2020 · UK; Romania
MRI data from Romanian adoptees with severe early deprivation were compared with non-deprived UK adoptees. The deprived group had smaller total brain volume on average and regional structural differences, with duration of deprivation associated with brain volume.
Early severe institutional deprivation is associated with a persistent variant of adult ADHD
2016 · UK; Romania
An ERA follow-up found those exposed to more than six months' institutional deprivation had much higher ADHD rates into ages 22–25 than a low-deprivation comparison group, with links to education and employment difficulties.
Early years adversity, adoption and adulthood: conceptualising long-term outcomes
2014 · United Kingdom research context (sample geography not specified in abstract)
Researchers assessed 72 women adopted from Hong Kong orphanages into British families in the 1960s, roughly 45 years later. Interviews and questionnaires covered health, relationships, achievements, identity and wellbeing. Compared with 1958 birth-cohort data, the women differed little on the measures used. The paper also examines what midlife measures may miss.
Exploring the attachment-related representational and emotional trajectory from late adoption to early adulthood: A longitudinal qualitative study
2026 · United Kingdom
A longitudinal qualitative study followed three women adopted later in childhood into early adulthood, using childhood story-stem narratives and later attachment interviews. The analysis described increasing emotional elaboration, conflictual parent representations followed by repair, tensions between dependence and independence, and appreciation of childhood experiences.
Family Routes: exploring the needs and experiences of young people
2026 · England
The report draws on interviews within 74 adoptive and special-guardianship families and examines circumstances affecting wellbeing, health and outcomes for young people aged 12–25.
Finding my voice: A qualitative exploration into the perceived impact of person-centred counsellor training upon counsellors who were adopted as a baby
2021 · United Kingdom (regional coverage not specified in abstract)
Researchers used qualitative accounts from qualified person-centred counsellors adopted as babies to explore how adoption influenced their training. Interpretative phenomenological analysis identified adoption-related difficulties and participants’ accounts of greater self-awareness, self-acceptance, identity development and ability to express themselves during training.
Further analysis of the British Chinese Adoption Study (BCAS): Adult life events and experiences after international adoption
2018 · UK; women adopted from Hong Kong
Questionnaires and interviews with 68 women in their forties and early fifties examined adult lives after adoption from Hong Kong orphanages into UK families during the 1960s. Most described broadly stable, supported lives with difficult periods. Unhappiness about adoption and partnership adversity after age 25 were associated with poorer midlife functioning. Childhood experiences were not associated with patterns of adult adversity.
Historic forced adoption - scoping study: final report
2023 · Scotland
The study included interviews with 37 people affected by historic forced adoption, including 19 adoptees, alongside stakeholders and local-authority survey responses.
How do adopted adults see the significance of adoption and being a parent in their life stories?
2023 · England
Forty adopted adults who were parents took part in life-story interviews examining adoption and parenthood across their lives.
HPA axis dysregulation in adult adoptees twenty years after severe institutional deprivation in childhood
2017 · United Kingdom; Romania (origin)
Researchers measured daily cortisol in 57 young adult adoptees, comparing those exposed to Romanian institutional deprivation with UK adoptees. More than six months of deprivation was associated with an absent cortisol awakening response and a flatter early-morning pattern. The analysis did not find evidence that this cortisol pattern mediated emotional problems in this subsample.
Improving Adoption Services for Adults: end of project report and recommendations
2025 · England
This project combined consultations with adults affected by adoption, professional working groups and examination of service and legal arrangements. Around 25 people with lived experience, including 15 adoptees, contributed. The report describes barriers to records, tracing and therapeutic support, including costs, delays and insensitive responses, and develops recommendations for adult services.
In Search of Origins: The Experiences of Adopted People
1973 · Scotland, UK
The research examined adopted adults' knowledge of their origins, identity, attitudes towards adoption information and experiences or wishes concerning searching. The work formed part of the evidence base in debates about adult adoptees' access to birth information.
Increased risk of suicidal behaviour in non-European international adoptees decreases with age
2020 · Sweden
This later Swedish study found relative suicide risk was highest in early adulthood and declined with age, while suicide-attempt risk remained elevated. Later birth cohorts and infant adoptions generally showed lower relative risks.
Infant adoption: psychosocial outcomes in adulthood
1998 · United Kingdom
Using the National Child Development Study, researchers compared adult psychosocial outcomes among adoptees, nonadopted people born in similar circumstances and other cohort members. Adopted women showed few difficulties across the domains examined. Adopted men showed difficulties in employment and social support. The findings describe differences between these comparison groups rather than a uniform outcome for all adoptees.
Infant domestic adoption: outcomes at mid-life
2020 · United Kingdom
Researchers compared infant-adopted members of the 1958 and 1970 British birth cohorts with people raised by two birth parents and nonadopted people from similar circumstances at birth. At mid-life, physical health and wellbeing differed little between groups. Psychological distress was generally similar to population comparisons. Externalising outcomes were higher than population comparisons but similar to birth-circumstance comparisons, with prenatal and childhood circumstances contributing to differences.
Infant domestic adoptions followed up to adulthood: considerations with reference to British birth cohort data
2020 · United Kingdom research context (sample geography not specified in abstract)
Researchers reviewed adult outcomes of infant domestic adoption and discussed findings from British post-war birth-cohort follow-ups into midlife. They considered prenatal factors, adoptive environments and comparison groups. The paper describes potentially different patterns of protection for internalising and externalising difficulties.
Intercountry adopted children as young adults--a Swedish cohort study
2003 · Sweden
National registers were used to examine 5,942 intercountry adoptees as young adults. Adoptees more often had psychiatric problems and long-term social-welfare receipt; educational attainment was broadly similar to the general population before socioeconomic adjustment.
Is Early Experience Destiny? Review of Research on Long-Term Outcomes following International Adoption with Special Reference to the British Chinese Adoption Study
2016 · International / United Kingdom
This review examines research on outcomes extending into adolescence and adulthood after international adoption, with particular attention to the British Chinese Adoption Study. It considers how early experiences and subsequent family environments relate to psychological and social functioning. The reviewed abstract describes the scope rather than reporting specific outcome estimates.
Knowing where you’ve come from: adoption reunion narratives
2000 · Scotland
Research in Scotland examined adult adoptees' reunion narratives and themes of kinship, biography, memory and origins.
Leveraging family data for complex trait genomics
2020 · UK datasets; regional breakdown not provided in abstract
This doctorate combined family-based designs with genetic data to study complex traits. Its adoption chapter examined whether genetic scores associated with educational attainment also capture environmental influences from relatives. Other chapters investigated family genomic data and emotional traits. The thesis abstract describes the approach but does not report numerical findings from the adoption comparison.
Life Stories of International Romanian Adoptees: A Narrative Study
2017 · International sample including Britain (3 of 10)
Ten adults adopted from Romania described their life stories in interviews. Narrative analysis traced how they described their adoption, developed a sense of self, sought information and negotiated Romanian and adoptive-country identities. The accounts included varied ways of relating these identities and using social media to explore origins.
Long‐term foster care or adoption? The evidence examined
2002 · International / United Kingdom
This literature review compared long-term fostering and adoption across several aspects of permanence and outcomes. Reviewed studies described greater emotional security, belonging and wellbeing among adopted young people than those in long-term foster care. The paper also examined placement breakdown and difficulties comparing the two pathways.
Mapping the exposome of mental health: exposome-wide association study of mental health outcomes among UK Biobank participants
2025 · United Kingdom
Researchers analysed 294 exposures against mental-health outcomes in 157,298 UK Biobank questionnaire participants, using split-sample screening and multivariable models. Reported childhood adoption was associated with having ever self-harmed in the multivariable analysis. This was one association within a wider study of environmental and personal characteristics.
Meeting the adoption support needs of adopted adults who have been abused in their adoptive family
2014 · United Kingdom
This paper centres adopted adults who reported abuse or neglect within their adoptive families. It suggests historical abuse and neglect by adoptive family members may have been more common than acknowledged and examines barriers to effective support.
Neurodevelopmental problems in adulthood following severe early deprivation: A qualitative analysis of clinical needs and service user experiences
2024 · United Kingdom; Romania
Interviews with adult adoptees and parents from the English and Romanian Adoptees study explored neurodevelopmental difficulties and service needs after severe early deprivation. Accounts described difficulties with independent living, money management and decisions, alongside unmet needs and problems obtaining recognition of neurodevelopmental conditions. Some described helpful support, while medication experiences varied.
No Evidence for Passive Gene-Environment Correlation or the Influence of Genetic Risk for Psychiatric Disorders on Adult Body Composition via the Adoption Design
2021 · United Kingdom
The study compared body-composition measures in 6,165 adoptees and 6,165 matched non-adopted UK Biobank participants. Researchers tested whether genetic heritability or psychiatric-disorder polygenic associations differed between groups. They found no evidence for the proposed passive gene–environment correlation or for differences in psychiatric genetic-risk effects on adult body composition in this design.
Outcomes of Concurrent Planning: Summary of Findings
2013 · England
Coram examined records for 57 children placed through concurrent planning and interviewed 28 parents or primary carers. Fifty-four children had been adopted and three reunited with birth families. All 57 remained in their placements at the 2012–13 follow-up. The report also assessed children’s health, behaviour and education using records and adult reports.
Parent-reported problems in 211 adopted children: some risk and protective factors
1997 · United Kingdom
Parents of 211 adoptees who had reached young adulthood were interviewed retrospectively about childhood and adolescent problems. Researchers compared infant adoptees with older adoptees who had experienced satisfactory or adverse early care. Adolescent problems were most common in the adverse early-care group, although difficulties and positive outcomes occurred across groups.
Pre-Adoption Order Disruptions in England: Learning from disruption reports 2017-2024
2025 · England
Researchers analysed 77 regional adoption agency disruption reports concerning 184 children in England, held professional focus groups and discussed recommendations with practitioners and adopters. They examined why placements ended before an adoption order. Themes concerned concerns left unspoken, missing information, information not understood and problems not addressed. Communication between adults and the understanding of children’s needs featured throughout.
Psychological Adjustment in Adult Adoptees: A Meta-Analysis
2021 · International
Eighteen studies from 1993–2019 were combined to examine adult adoptees' psychological adjustment. Across most outcomes adoptees showed poorer average adjustment than non-adoptees.
Releasing pre-adoption birth records: a survey of Oregon adoptees
2002 · United States
Adult adoptees who obtained original birth records after Oregon opened access were studied. Common motivations included finding birth parents and obtaining medical information; many received less information than expected, but most still considered the records useful.
School achievement and adult qualifications among adoptees: a longitudinal study
1998 · United Kingdom
Using the 1958 National Child Development Study, researchers examined school achievement and later qualifications among adoptees. Compared with non-adopted participants with similar birth circumstances, adoptees had better reading, mathematics and general ability scores and advantages in adult qualifications. Family socioeconomic and educational circumstances were associated with achievement.
Searching, reunion and transracial adoption
2000 · United Kingdom
Interviews with transracially adopted adults found racial and ethnic identity could be an important motivation for searching. Participants often felt they gained from search or reunion, while hopes concerning racial or ethnic identity were not always met.
Sense of belonging, sense of exclusion, and racial and ethnic identities in Korean transracial adoptees
2010 · United States
Fourteen adult Korean transracial adoptees described how belonging and exclusion within white American, Korean American and family contexts shaped racial and ethnic identity. It foregrounds adoptees' own accounts of navigating multiple cultural reference groups.
Severe deprivation in early childhood leads to permanent growth stunting: Longitudinal analysis of height trajectories from childhood-to-adulthood
2022 · United Kingdom; Romania (origin)
Researchers modelled height at ages 4, 6, 11, 15 and 23 in a cohort of 165 Romanian adoptees and 51 UK adoptees. Longer early deprivation was associated with shorter adult height. Earlier adolescent growth acceleration was also observed, especially among females.
Sibling Connections: adopted people's birth and adoptive sibling relationships across the life-span
2012 · United Kingdom
Twenty adopted adults with at least one known birth sibling were interviewed about birth and adoptive sibling relationships across their lives.
Sibling separation and birth family reunion in adoption: perspectives of social workers and adoptees
2017 · UK research context; empirical recruitment region unverified
This doctorate includes a systematic review of thirteen studies on adult adoptees’ reunions and an interview study of social workers’ sibling-placement decisions using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The review examined relationships, reunion impacts and facilitating or obstructing factors. The empirical analysis identified themes about decision-making and the role of workers’ beliefs and experiences.
Substance use disorders and adoption: findings from a national sample
2012 · United States
A large US epidemiological survey compared 378 adopted adults with more than 42,000 non-adopted adults. Several lifetime substance-use disorders were more prevalent among adoptees.
Suicidal behaviour in national and international adult adoptees: a Swedish cohort study
2006 · Sweden
More than 6,000 international adoptees, 7,000 Swedish domestic adoptees and over one million non-adopted people were compared. Both adoptee groups had elevated risks of suicide attempt and suicide death, with higher relative risks among international adoptees.
Surnames in Adoption: (Re)creating Identities of Belonging
2023 · England and Wales
Adult adoptee and adopter accounts were used to examine how surnames relate to family belonging, individual identity, birth-family connections and lineage.
The Adoption Barometer 2019: A stocktake of adoption in the UK
2019 · United Kingdom
The first Adoption Barometer surveyed around 3,500 families about 2018. Its child-outcome component covers education, mental-health service use and the transition to adulthood through parent questionnaires. This entry identifies that research component; detailed findings are not summarised because the report itself could not be retrieved.
The Adoption Barometer 2020: A stocktake of adoption in the UK
2020 · United Kingdom
The 2020 report analyses 4,926 valid responses collected in early 2020 about 2019. Its child-focused sections use parent reports to examine educational support, health and transitions to adulthood. Most parents reporting on education described their children as needing additional support compared with peers. The report also examines fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
The Adoption Barometer 2021: A stocktake of adoption in the UK
2021 · United Kingdom
The report combines parent questionnaires with a separate survey of 159 adoptees aged 16 and over about transitions to adulthood. Adoptees described varied support needs and views of adoption, including accounts of missing support during adolescence. Some reported no need for adoption-specific help. Responses mix recent experiences with older adults’ reflections.
The Adoption Barometer 2022: A stocktake of adoption in the UK
2022 · United Kingdom
The 2022 report includes a survey of more than 280 adopted adults about birth-family relationships, childhood contact and searching in adulthood, alongside parent questionnaires. Adoptee responses describe gaps in access to counselling and peer support, sometimes requiring people to arrange or pay for support themselves.
The Adoption Barometer 2023: A stocktake of adoption in the UK
2023 · United Kingdom
An online survey in December 2022–January 2023 included 248 adult adoptees. The adult section examines access to records and life-history information. Responses describe variable support, delays, missing or redacted records and uncertainty about the completeness of life-story materials. Some people accessing records recently reported more positive experiences.
The Adoption Barometer 2024: A stocktake of adoption in England
2024 · England
The England report includes 246 adult adoptee respondents, alongside parent questionnaires about children. Adoptees described limited or inappropriate adult support, waits and costs. Child-focused sections examine education, mental health and birth-family contact. Data were collected in early 2024, mainly concerning 2023.
The Adoption Barometer 2025: A stocktake of adoption in England
2025 · England; UK-wide young-adoptee component
The 2025 England report uses surveys collected in January–February 2025, mainly about 2024. Adoptee responses describe barriers to records, tracing and mental-health support; some reported delayed healthcare linked to missing family medical history. Parent questionnaires cover children’s education and support. A separate young-adoptee component adds direct accounts of wellbeing and education.
The adult outcome of childhood quasi-autism arising following extreme institutional deprivation
2023 · England / Romania (adopted into UK families)
Researchers followed adoptees identified in childhood with the ERA study’s “quasi-autism” pattern into adulthood. They compared 26 such participants with 75 adoptees exposed to extended deprivation without that pattern and 116 adoptees with low or no institutional deprivation. The childhood pattern was associated with persistent autism-related difficulties, ADHD and disinhibited social engagement symptoms, mental health difficulties and poorer educational and employment outcomes. Life satisfaction and self-esteem were not affected in the reported comparisons. Communication difficulties predicted poorer adult outcomes.
The association of early life factors with depression and anxiety in adults aged 40–69 years
2024 · United Kingdom
UK Biobank data examined early-life factors including adoption against later recorded depression and anxiety.
The British Chinese Adoption Study: orphanage care, adoption and mid-life outcomes
2013 · United Kingdom; Hong Kong (origin)
Researchers traced a historical group of one hundred Hong Kong-born girls adopted into UK families, using orphanage records, questionnaires and mid-life interviews. Seventy-two took part in follow-up. Average mental and physical health measures were similar to comparison groups of UK-born adopted and nonadopted women. Participants reporting poorer adoptive-family experiences or more negative views of their adoption also reported poorer mental health.
The experience of adoption and its relationship with identity formation in adults
2023 · United Kingdom
The thesis includes a systematic review of birth-family searching and an empirical qualitative study with 15 adopted adults examining adoption communication, birth-family contact, identity and self-esteem.
The impact of childhood deprivation on adult neuropsychological functioning is associated with ADHD symptom persistence
2020 · UK; Romania
Previously institutionalised adoptees showed adult difficulties across several cognitive domains, related particularly to persistent ADHD symptoms. It links behavioural findings with adult cognitive functioning.
The impact of early adversity on the cerebral cortex - a Mendelian randomization study
2023 · United Kingdom
Researchers used UK Biobank genetic summary data for six early-life characteristics, including reported childhood adoption, and separate ENIGMA brain-structure data. Mendelian-randomisation analyses found no global cortical association, but genetic predictors of reported adoption showed nominal associations with thickness in several brain regions.
The long term outcome of reunions between adult adopted people and their birth mothers
2001 · United Kingdom
Forty-eight adult adoptees first reunited with birth mothers at least eight years earlier were followed up. More than half remained in contact with their birth mother, although contact with adoptive mothers was more common and often more frequent.
The proportion of adoptees who have received their birth records in England and Wales
2001 · England and Wales
The study estimated how many adult adoptees obtained original birth records after the 1975 legal change, analysing patterns by birth year and access year. More than 70,000 out-of-family adoptees had received records by the period studied.
The role of birth country/heritage interest in adult international adoptees’ wellbeing
2026 · UK; Romania
ERA data examined interest in Romania, heritage engagement, birth-family contact and adult wellbeing.
Theorising the Racial Identity Development of Transracial Adoptees: A Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
2007 · United Kingdom
This British study examined racial identity among adults adopted transracially as children. Qualitative accounts collected in 2000–2003 were analysed using a symbolic interactionist approach. The article describes how family differences, other people’s racial categorisation and experiences of inclusion and exclusion shaped identities combining birth and adoptive heritages.
Therapists’ experience of the therapeutic relationship when working with adults adopted as infants
2017 · United Kingdom
Six adoption counsellors were interviewed about therapeutic relationships with adults adopted in infancy. Interpretative phenomenological analysis described attention to rejection, efforts to offer a different relational experience, and the consequences of this work for therapists. The analysis addressed establishing, sustaining and ending therapy.
Transition to adulthood for young people in adoptive care: Secondary analyses of data from the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE)
2011 · England
Researchers followed 34 young people adopted from care using six waves of an English cohort and linked educational records. Compared with fostered and disadvantaged comparison groups, adoptees had better education and employment outcomes after GCSEs. They nevertheless reported bullying and mental-health difficulties during adolescence. The analysis combined young people’s interviews, family information and administrative attainment data.
Transnational adoptions and Life-Trajectories: a biography study of teenage and young adult adoptees living in Austria, England and Sweden
2011 · England, Austria and Sweden
Interviews and biographical photographs from 19 young people explored identity and life paths after transnational adoption. Participants lived in Austria, England and Sweden. Analysis highlighted support within adoptive families, connections with other adoptees and changes over time in interest in adoption and cultural identity. The author developed an interpretive model to organise these life histories.
Understanding how adults adopted in England pre-1989 experience parenthood
2026 · England
Researchers interviewed four adults, aged 40–50, adopted in England before 1989 and now parents themselves. Interpretative phenomenological analysis described parenthood as prompting renewed reflection on adoption, continuing adoption-related experiences and ways of moving forward. Participants’ accounts linked communication in their adoptive families with how they communicated as parents.
Understanding the prospective associations between neuro-developmental problems, bullying victimization, and mental health: Lessons from a longitudinal study of institutional deprivation
2024 · United Kingdom (regional breakdown not specified)
Using assessments from ages 6, 11 and 15 and young adulthood, researchers examined neurodevelopmental difficulties, bullying and later mental health in 165 Romanian adoptees and 52 UK adoptees. Severe early deprivation was associated with more bullying and neurodevelopmental symptoms. Statistical models suggested a pathway in which earlier neurodevelopmental difficulties were followed by bullying and then adult depression or anxiety.
What Is Distinctive About Autism Arising Following Severe Institutional Deprivation? A Direct Comparison With a Community Sample of Early Diagnosed Autistic People
2025 · United Kingdom; Romania (origin)
Researchers compared autism-related questionnaire profiles in 26 ERA adoptees with deprivation-associated autistic characteristics, UK adoptee controls and community samples of autistic young people. Many features overlapped with community autism, while some communication and repetitive behaviours persisted and social reciprocity difficulties declined over time.
Whatever happened to baby Mei? A phenomenological study of adoption appraisal in midlife
2017 · United Kingdom
Face-to-face interviews with 68 Chinese women in their forties and fifties examined how they understood adoption in midlife. They had been adopted from Hong Kong orphanages into UK families in the 1960s. Phenomenological analysis described changing appraisals of adoption, losses and gains, individual meanings and communication about adoption within and beyond families.
When people adopted from severely depriving institutions become parents: The experiences of young adult mothers from the ERA study and their adoptive parents
2023 · United Kingdom
Researchers analysed accounts from 14 young adult mothers adopted into the UK after severe Romanian institutional deprivation, alongside accounts from their adoptive parents. Becoming a parent brought fulfilment, motivation and relationships with biological relatives. Reported challenges included risk appraisal and organising daily activities; practical and emotional support from adoptive grandparents was often described as helpful.
Why does early childhood deprivation increase the risk for depression and anxiety in adulthood? A developmental cascade model
2020 · United Kingdom; Romania (origin)
The ERA study examined pathways from early deprivation to depression and anxiety in young adulthood, using childhood parent reports and later parent and adoptee reports. Statistical modelling linked early neurodevelopmental difficulties to adult emotional problems through unemployment and difficulties with friendships during the transition to adulthood. Results concerning later stress reactivity were inconclusive.