Identity and belonging
Studies exploring identity, family membership and belonging in adoptees’ lives.
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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‘We lacked crucial information about the child’s ethnicity and cultural background…’: Challenging post-racial phantasmagoria and promoting race intentionality in transracial adoption
2026 · England
Co-creation focus groups with 55 participants, including adoptees, social workers and adoptive parents, explored how adoption practice addresses racial and cultural identity. Analysis identified gaps in cultural information and preparation, and the need to consider identity before placement and work with birth families. The authors interpret these findings through a framework examining assumptions that race no longer matters.
‘We need to understand what’s going on because it’s our life’: Using sandboxing to understand children and young people’s everyday conversations about care
2021 · United Kingdom (regional coverage not specified in abstract)
Researchers used a creative method in which care-experienced children and young people made sand scenes to express hopes and fears about conversations concerning their lives. The analysis described children’s wish for warm, open and responsive discussions about difficult aspects of their histories. The paper addresses adoption and care experiences.
“This is a new start for you”: exploring adopted young people’s educational experience and what works well to support their transition to secondary school
2020 · United Kingdom (regional recruitment not established)
This doctorate combines a qualitative literature synthesis with interviews involving three adopted young people and seven adoptive parents. Grounded-theory analysis examined transition to secondary school. The young-person material included the possibility of a fresh start and changes in how adoption was understood alongside relationships and school support.
(De)racializing “common sense”: media perspectives on adoption reform in England
2020 · England
The researcher analysed coverage of adoption reform in five national newspapers and their Sunday counterparts. The study examined how reporting addressed race, ethnicity, identities and family relationships. It found coverage that played down the significance of race while presenting ethnic matching as a threat, and interpreted this pattern through the concept of moral panic.
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 Children and Their Grandparents: Views from three Generations
2009 · United Kingdom
This study examined adoptive family relationships across three generations. A quantitative component involved 236 respondents, and interviews were conducted with children, parents and grandparents in six white British families. The analysis described grandparents as symbolising acceptance and approval within these families, alongside the cultural expectation that grandparents provide enjoyable relationships.
Adopted children and young people’s views on their life storybooks: The role of narrative in the formation of identities
2015 · England
Researchers interviewed 20 children and young people adopted from care in England about their life story books. Themes concerned the story told about their lives, identity and openness in communication. Children discussed honesty, gaps in their histories, treasured possessions and opportunities to talk about adoption.
Adopted children's co-production and use of 'trove' (a digitally enhanced memory box) to better understand their care histories through precious objects
2018 · England
Researchers developed a digitally enhanced memory box called trove with children and piloted ten boxes with adopted children in England. Children could store meaningful objects and link them to recorded memories. The paper examines this approach to life story work and children’s involvement in its design. The abstract identifies the trial but does not describe its specific findings.
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 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.
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.
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 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.
APPG Adoptee Voices Inquiry
2026 · England
The inquiry drew on evidence from more than 300 adoptees aged 13–25, focusing on identity, health and wellbeing, and education.
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.
Belonging and Permanence: Outcomes in long-term foster care and adoption
2010 · England
Researchers compared adoption and long-term foster care across seven English local authorities. The research included a census of 374 children, a survey covering 196 children, an earlier longitudinal subsample and interviews with 37 children and their carers. Just over one-third of adopted children and children in stable foster care had clinically significant emotional or behavioural difficulties on the questionnaire measure, with no significant difference between these groups. Children in unstable care had poorer emotional, behavioural and educational outcomes. Interviews also explored children’s belonging and relationships.
British-Chinese adoptees and the transracial experience: whiteness, ‘Chineseness’ and the fluidity of privilege
2026 · United Kingdom
Focus groups and follow-up interviews with 45 British-Chinese adoptees examine race, belonging and adoption in predominantly white families. Using a constructivist approach and an adoptee researcher’s autoethnographic standpoint, the thesis interprets experiences through postcolonial and critical race theory.
Chatting Online With My Other Mother: Adoptive family views and experiences of the use of traditional and technological forms of post-adoption contact
2015 · UK; regional recruitment breakdown not established
This doctorate examined how online communication changes contact with birth relatives. It combined an adopter survey with interviews involving adoptive parents and six adopted young people. The research described opportunities for identity exploration and more personal relationships, alongside difficulties arising from unmediated contact. Experiences varied with existing relationships and family circumstances.
Communicating with adopted and care experienced individuals about their history: exploring the psychological and relational impact.
2024 · United Kingdom
A qualitative evidence synthesis examined life story work with adopted and care-experienced people. An empirical study interviewed adopted people and professionals about communicating personal histories. Themes concerned spoken and unspoken stories, openness, empathy and matching communication to the individual’s readiness. Communication could offer connection and control while also creating emotional and relational challenges.
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.
Continuing in post-16 education: The views of adopted young people
2022 · United Kingdom
Five adopted young people aged 16–19 were interviewed about continuing in education. Thematic analysis identified a positive sense of self, supportive people, supportive approaches and supportive systems as relevant to their decisions and experiences. Participants described adoption-aware staff and the educational setting’s ethos as part of that support.
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 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.
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.
Findings from a UK Based Study of Late Permanent Placements
2000 · United Kingdom
This article reports research on later permanent placements in the United Kingdom. Its title and bibliographic identity are verified in subsequent research publications. The article’s abstract and full text were not accessible, so no results are stated.
Gender Dysphoria in looked-after and adopted young people in a gender identity development service
2019 · United Kingdom (regional breakdown not specified)
Researchers reviewed case files for 185 young people referred to a UK gender identity service in 2009–2011. Adopted young people accounted for 3.8% of referrals and looked-after young people for 4.9%. The study compared clinical presentation and service pathways between groups. Adopted and looked-after young people did not show greater overall functional impairment than other young people referred to the service.
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.
Identity as experienced and explored in therapy with adopted children: An IPA study
2021 · United Kingdom
Eight therapists in a specialist CAMHS clinic were interviewed about adopted children’s identity. Interpretative phenomenological analysis described themes around evolving selfhood and different facets of identity. Therapists reported trauma-related difficulties, fragmented self-perceptions, family adjustment and stigma, and valued space to reflect on their work.
Identity, Race, Religion and Adoption: The Public and Legal View
2004 · England and Wales
The researchers used more than 1,200 questionnaires from a stratified sample of the public in England and Wales to examine views about race, religion and cultural identity in adoption. They analysed how views varied with respondents’ characteristics and compared public perceptions with adoption law. The abstract describes the questions and analysis but does not report the detailed results.
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.
Joining a New Family: The Views and Experiences of Young People Placed with Permanent Families during Middle Childhood
2005 · United Kingdom
Young people placed with permanent families at ages 5–11 were interviewed six years later about joining their families, relationships and belonging. Many described taking considerable time to settle but subsequently feeling part of the family. Some described a new start, while a small minority remained unsettled.
Joining New Families: A Study of Adoption and Fostering in Middle Childhood
1998 · United Kingdom (regional recruitment not established)
This research book examines adoption and permanent fostering in middle childhood. Its bibliographic identity was checked against the authors’ university publication record and a later article from the research programme. The underlying book was not reviewed, so no findings are summarised here.
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.
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.
Life story work with looked after and adopted children: how professional training and experience determine perceptions of its value
2016 · United Kingdom (regional coverage not specified in abstract)
Researchers asked 29 people from professional and service-user backgrounds to rank 57 statements about life story work. Their views formed three groups: a supportive coherent narrative, ongoing child-led work rooted in current relationships, and an adaptable record of the child’s history. All groups prioritised helping children express and manage feelings arising during the work.
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.
Making sense of adoption: integration and differentiation from the perspective of adopted children in middle childhood
2012 · England
Forty-three English adoptees aged five to thirteen were interviewed about belonging and understanding adoption. Almost all described closeness to their adoptive families, while half expressed complicated feelings about birth family, including loss or rejection. Over half reported uncomfortable questions or teasing from peers.
Matching, Ethnicity and Identity: Reflections on the Practice and Realities of Ethnic Matching in Adoption
2012 · England
This evaluation compared a specialist service placing Black, Asian and dual-heritage children with a general adoption service in the same organisation. It combined placement statistics with staff and adopter interviews. The authors reported that recruiting minority ethnic families could enable placements with families of similar heritage. It examines service practice and matching, rather than measuring adoptees’ later identity or wellbeing.
Names and naming in adoption: Birth heritage and family-making
2020 · England and Wales policy context; international reviewed literature
This review examined research about naming in adoption, using database searches, UK research publications and thematic coding. It organised the literature around birth heritage and forming adoptive family identities. Names were connected with cultural identity, birth-family links and belonging. The authors identified limited research directly examining adoptees’ experiences of naming.
Names in adoption law and policy: representations of family, rights and identities
2024 · England
Researchers used critical discourse analysis to examine how English adoption law and policy discuss names. They identified greater emphasis on shared family surnames than children’s first-name identity rights, interpreting omissions and unclear wording as linked to particular representations of family.
PAC-UK Big Consult of Adopted People
2023 · England
A voluntary online consultation in late 2022 received 454 responses from people adopted from the 1950s onwards, across English regions. Respondents described identity, education, contact, mental health services, records and reunion. Many reported insufficient childhood information and delays or dissatisfaction with records access; experiences and preferences supported greater openness and continuing support.
Permanent Family Placement for Children of Minority Ethnic Origin
2000 · United Kingdom
This book reports a long-term study of minority ethnic children placed with adoptive or foster families during the 1980s. It examines placement stability, ethnic identity and birth-family contact, and includes accounts from young people and carers. The publisher description establishes the research topics but does not support detailed outcome estimates here.
Piecing together the patchwork: How a therapeutic school can help adopted children with their sense of identity.
2023 · United Kingdom
Eight clinical and education staff at one therapeutic school were interviewed about supporting adopted children’s identity. Thematic analysis identified perceived roles for the therapeutic environment, parent work and coordination of professional networks.
Post adoption support needs and implications for future practice – a systematic review
2026 · International (UK-led review)
A systematic review examined 76 English-language primary studies published during 2002–2025 about adoptees’ and families’ post-adoption support needs. Recurring subjects included attachment, identity, neurodevelopment, mental health, trauma, education, loss and birth-family contact. The synthesis described barriers to obtaining support and understanding adoptees’ earlier adversity and neurodevelopmental needs.
Post-Adoption Support for Children and Young People in Educational Settings
2019 · United Kingdom (regional recruitment not established)
This doctorate combines an eleven-study review with interviews with five adopted students aged 16–19. The interviews explored support received at school. Young people described supportive people, approaches and systems, alongside positive self-identity, as features of more positive school experiences.
School experience for adopted children, young people, and their families
2021 · United Kingdom
This thesis combined an education review, Wales Adoption Cohort parent-reported school experiences and Understanding Society adolescent analyses. Adopted adolescents reported more emotional and behavioural difficulties and different education or employment intentions. Adoption-related feelings were associated with self-esteem and belonging; perceived negative reactions to adoption were associated with having fewer friends.
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.
Starting Secondary School: The Experiences of Adopted Young People and Their Parents
2020 · UK; recruitment region not specified in abstract
Three adopted Year 7 pupils and two adoptive parents were interviewed about starting secondary school. Older adopted pupils helped shape the research design. Interpretative phenomenological analysis identified themes concerning anxiety, managing oneself, attachment and adoptive identity. Accounts varied with individual experiences.
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 Experience of Adoption (1) A Study of Intercountry and Domestic Adoption from the child's point of view
2007 · United Kingdom
At age 11, 180 children adopted domestically in the UK or from Romania were interviewed about adoption. Few overall differences were found between groups. Children adopted later from Romania reported more difficulty talking about adoption and feeling different from their families; further analyses suggested their difficulty profiles helped explain these differences.
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 Importance of Cultural Identity in Adoption: A Study of Young People Adopted from Romania
2008 · United Kingdom
Researchers interviewed young people adopted from Romania at ages 11 and 15, alongside parent interviews at earlier and later assessments. Most identified as English or Anglo-Romanian and expressed interest in Romania. Interest in Romania was not associated with self-esteem; the small group identifying primarily as Romanian had lower self-esteem and more deprivation-related difficulties.
The psychological implications of forced adoption: A scoping review
2025 · International (includes UK studies)
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.
The reasons why young children are placed for adoption: Findings from a recently placed sample and implications for future identity issues
2000 · United Kingdom
Social-worker questionnaires described 168 recently adopted young children. Fourteen per cent were relinquished infants, 24% were adopted at parental request in complex circumstances, and 62% through social-services and court requirements. Backgrounds and openness arrangements differed between groups, raising different questions for later explanations of personal history.
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.
The Usefulness of Oral Life (Hi)story to Understand and Empower: The Case of Trans-Racial Adoption
2005 · United Kingdom (programme context; article sample detail not established)
Drawing on research with transracial adoptees, this article examines the use of oral life-history interviews. It describes the research design and discusses methodological difficulties and the opportunities this approach offers for adoptees to explain their own experiences.
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.
Trans-racial adoption : a study of race, identity and policy
2004 · United Kingdom
Using oral life-history interviews, this thesis examines transracial adoptees’ racial identity and belonging. Participants described racialised difference as sometimes isolating and sometimes positive, and connected these experiences with searches for birth heritage. The thesis interprets identity as changing and negotiated rather than fixed.
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.
What is school like? An exploration of the experiences of school from the perspectives of adoptive parents and adopted children
2020 · United Kingdom
An empirical study interviewed three adopted secondary-school children and analysed their accounts using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Themes concerned relationships, adoptive status and inclusion. Children described the importance of peer and staff relationships and having agency over disclosure of adoption. A separate review examined adoptive-parent accounts of school.
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.