Child Welfare Information Gateway

Children’s Bureau/ACYF/ACF/HHS

1250 Maryland Avenue, SW

Eighth Floor

Washington, DC 20024

800.394.3366

Email: info@childwelfare.gov

https://www.childwelfare.gov

Impact of Adoption 

on Adopted Persons

FACTSHEET 

FOR FAMILIES

August 2013

Disponible en español

https://www.childwelfare.gov/

pubs/impactoadoptadas.cfm

Use your smartphone to 

access this factsheet online.

What’s Inside:

• Postadoption issues

• Openness, searching, and access to 

family history 

• Managing adoption issues 

• Resources 

As discussion of the adoption process becomes 

more open and accepted in American society, 

and as more Americans have experience with 

adoption, there is also more attention focused on 

those involved in adoption—the adopted person, 

the birth parents, and the adoptive parents (often 

referred to as the adoption triad or the adoption 

constellation). This factsheet examines the impact 

of adoption on adopted persons who have reached 

adulthood. 
Impact of Adoption on Adopted Persons https://www.childwelfare.gov

2

While it is difficult to make sweeping 

statements about such a large and diverse 

group as adopted persons, adopted 

persons generally lead lives that are no 

different from the lives of nonadopted 

persons; however, they have experiences 

that are unique to being adopted, and 

these experiences may have an impact 

on their lives at various times. There are 

several themes that emerge from personal 

accounts and data from academic studies 

about issues that adopted persons may 

face. This factsheet addresses these themes, 

which include loss, the development of 

identity and self-esteem, interest in genetic 

information, and managing adoption issues. 

This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare 

Information Gateway. Available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_adimpact.cfm

Postadoption Issues

Adopted persons may deal with a range of 

issues at different points in their lives.

Loss and Grief 

The loss of birth parents as a result of 

adoption may set the stage for feelings 

of grief for many adopted persons. The 

loss experienced by adopted persons may 

be characterized as ambiguous loss, or 

the loss of someone who still is (or who 

may be) alive (Powell & Afifi, 2005). This 

type of loss also may increase the feelings 

of uncertainty (e.g., “Do I resemble my 

biological parents?”) an adopted person 

feels. Adopted persons who feel secure in 

their adoption and have open adoptive 

family communication may be better able to 

manage their uncertainty and grief (Powell 

& Afifi). Additionally, adopted persons may 

have difficulty finding an outlet because 

their grief may not be recognized by others. 

Feelings of loss and grief, as well as anger, 

anxiety, or fear, may especially occur during 

emotionally charged milestones, such as 

marriage, the birth of a child, or the death 

of a parent. 

Adopted persons may also suffer secondary 

losses. For instance, along with the loss of 

their birth mother and birth father, adopted 

persons may experience the loss of brothers 

and sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles, 

and cousins. There also may be a loss of 

cultural connection or language (in cases of 

intercountry or transracial adoption). For 

those who were adopted as older children, 

there may be a loss of friends, foster 

families, pets, schools, neighborhoods, and 

familiar surroundings. 

Identity Development 

Identity formation begins in childhood 

and takes on increased importance and 

prominence during adolescence (Grotevant, 

1997). Adoption is a significant aspect 

of identity for adopted persons, even 

when they are adults (Evan B. Donaldson 

Adoption Institute, 2009). The task of 

identity development may be more difficult 

for an adopted person because of the 

additional issues related to adoption, such 

as why he or she was placed for adoption, 

what became of the birth parents, does he 

or she have siblings, and whether he or she 

resembles the birth parents in looks or in 

other characteristics. Adoption remains an 

important aspect of identity throughout 

adulthood, and one study described the 

development of adult adoptive identity as 

having five phases:
Impact of Adoption on Adopted Persons https://www.childwelfare.gov

3 This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare 

Information Gateway. Available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_adimpact.cfm

• No awareness/denying awareness: 

The adopted person does not overtly 

acknowledge adoption issues.

• Emerging awareness: The adopted person 

views adoption as a positive influence 

and recognizes some issues, but he or she 

is not ready to explore these issues.

• Drowning in awareness: The adopted 

person has feelings of loss, anger, and 

sadness about the adoption.

• Reemerging from awareness: The adopted 

person recognizes the issues related to 

the adoption, but also sees the positive 

aspects and is working toward acceptance.

• Finding peace: The adopted person has 

worked through his or her issues with 

the adoption and is moving toward 

peace and acceptance (Penny, Borders, & 

Portnoy, 2007).

Self-Esteem 

Often accompanying these issues of identity 

are issues of self-esteem—that is, how the 

adopted person feels about him or herself. 

A number of studies have found that, while 

adopted persons are similar to nonadopted 

persons in most ways, they often score 

lower on measures of self-esteem and selfconfidence (Borders, Penny, & Portnoy, 

2000; Sharma, McGue, & Benson, 1996). 

This result may reflect the fact that some 

adopted persons may view themselves 

as different, out-of-place, unwelcome, or 

rejected. Some of these feelings may result 

from the initial loss of birth parents and 

from growing up away from birth parents, 

siblings, and extended family members. 

They also may be caused by an ongoing 

feeling of being different from nonadopted 

people who know about their genetic 

background and birth family and who may 

be more secure about their own identity as 

a result. Additionally, some adopted persons 

report that secrecy surrounding their 

adoption contributes to low self-esteem.

Thinking About the Adoption 

The amount and degree of thought an 

adopted person devotes to his or her 

adoption may change over time and may 

vary based on each person’s circumstances. 

For example, the birth of a child to an 

adopted person, which may be the first 

experience with a biological family member, 

may cause the adopted person to revisit 

earlier issues of identity. The new parent 

may also be prompted to think about what 

his or her birth mother experienced in 

giving birth and what the birth mother and 

father may have experienced in making 

the adoption placement decision. Adopted 

adults who become new parents may be 

sympathetic to the difficulties of their birth 

parents, or they may wonder how their birth 

parents could ever have placed them for 

adoption. In a study of adopted adolescents’ 

thinking about adoption, 13 percent 

never thought about adoption, 54 percent 

thought about their adoption once a month 

or more, and 27 percent thought about 

their adoption once a week or more, with 

males thinking about their adoption more 

frequently than females (Kohler, Grotevant, 

& McRoy, 2002). Adolescents in closed 

adoptions were no more likely to have 

increased frequency of thought about their 

adoption than those in open adoptions. 
Impact of Adoption on Adopted Persons https://www.childwelfare.gov

4 This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare 

Information Gateway. Available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_adimpact.cfm

Genetic Information 

Adopted persons often lack birth family 

genetic and medical history. This 

information can be vitally important to the 

diagnosis and treatment of genetically based 

medical conditions (Evan B. Donaldson 

Adoption Institute, 2010). In addition, being 

asked to supply medical history information 

at a doctor’s appointment may make 

adopted persons acutely aware of how they 

differ from those who were not adopted. 

Finding out later in life that they were 

adopted as infants puts adopted persons 

at risk of misdiagnoses or other medical 

issues due to their long-held assumption of 

a family medical history that they later find 

is incorrect. Additionally, when adopted 

persons plan to get married or become 

a parent, they may want to know about 

genetic characteristics their children may 

inherit.

In many cases, nonidentifying information, 

such as medical history, may be placed 

in the adoption file by the birth parents 

or agency at the time of the adoption. 

Adopted persons are allowed access to 

this nonidentifying information, which is 

usually at least as old as the adopted person. 

In some States, adopted persons can petition 

a judge to have their adoption records 

opened, and some judges will agree to do so 

in order to provide urgently needed medical 

information. 

However, obtaining access to information 

provided by the birth parents at the time 

of the adoption may not be sufficient to 

provide a full medical history. For example, 

a birth parent, sibling, or grandparent may 

later develop or be diagnosed with a genetic 

disease or condition. It is more useful if 

birth parents regularly update the file that is 

kept with the adoption agency or attorney. 

Additionally, those in open adoptions may 

be able to get this information directly from 

their birth parents.

For more information about the collection 

of and access to birth family information, 

see the following Child Welfare Information 

Gateway factsheets:

•	 Collection of Family Information About

Adopted Persons and Their Birth Families

(https://www.childwelfare.gov/

systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/

collection.cfm)

•	 Access to Adoption Records (https://www.

childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_

policies/statutes/infoaccessap.cfm)

Adopted persons who find out their 

adoption status later in life often call 

themselves an LDA (for Late Discovery 

Adoptee). Responses may include anger 

directed toward the adoptive parents, 

depression, and issues with trust in 

other close relationships. For additional 

information about late discovery 

in adoption, visit Child Welfare 

Information Gateway at 

https://www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/

adopt_people/discovery.cfm. 

LATE DISCOVERY

Other Behavioral Health Issues 

A review of the research on the mental 

health of adopted adults shows there is 

a divide about whether adopted adults’ 

psychological well-being is comparable to 
Impact of Adoption on Adopted Persons

5 This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare 

Information Gateway. Available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_adimpact.cfm

https://www.childwelfare.gov

their nonadopted peers. Many studies report 

that adopted adults have a higher degree of 

mental health issues, but some researchers 

view these differences as minor while 

others view them as substantial (Baden & 

Wiley, 2007). Additionally, the studies are 

not always in agreement about what the 

differences are. For example, some studies 

cite higher rates of depression among 

adopted individuals than their nonadopted 

peers (Borders et al., 2000; Cubito & 

Obremski Brandon, 2000), while others have 

found similar levels of depression within 

both groups (Feigelman, 2005).

Even with the split in research conclusions 

about adopted adults’ psychological wellbeing, most of the literature points to 

adopted adolescents and adults being more 

likely to receive counseling than their 

nonadopted peers (Borders et al., 2000; 

Miller et al., 2000). Studies comparing 

adopted persons to their nonadopted 

peers also indicate that adopted adults 

have similar rates of suicide ideation and 

attempts (Feigelman, 2005), that adopted 

adolescents have similar rates of antisocial 

behaviors (Grotevant et al., 2006), and that 

adopted persons are at an increased risk of 

substance use disorders during their lifetime 

(Yoon, Westermeyer, Warwick, & Kuskowski, 

2012).

Even given all the research about 

trends in the lives of adopted persons, 

each adopted person will have unique 

feelings, experiences, and thoughts 

about his or her adoption. Some of 

these differences may be accounted for 

by individual personality traits, coping 

mechanisms, or other life events, but 

circumstances surrounding the adoption 

also may affect how an adopted person 

views the adoption. The following are 

examples of characteristics of adoptions 

that may have an impact on an adopted 

person:

• Being adopted transracially (https://

www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/

adopt_ethics/types/trans.cfm) 

• Having lesbian, gay, bisexual, or 

transgender (LGBT) parents 

(https://www.childwelfare.gov/

adoption/adopt_ethics/types/lgbt.cfm) 

• Being adopted from another 

country (https://www.childwelfare.

gov/adoption/adopt_ethics/types/

intercountry.cfm) 

• Being in an open adoption 

(https://www.childwelfare.gov/

adoption/preplacement/adoption_

openness.cfm) 

• Discovering later in life that you were 

adopted (https://www.childwelfare.

gov/adoption/adopt_people/discovery.

cfm) 

• Being placed for adoption because 

your birth parents’ rights were 

terminated involuntarily 

(https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_

transition.cfm)

VARIATIONS IN THE 

ADOPTION EXPERIENCE
Impact of Adoption on Adopted Persons https://www.childwelfare.gov

6 This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare 

Information Gateway. Available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_adimpact.cfm

Openness, Searching, 

and Access to 

Family History 

Being placed for adoption does not 

necessarily mean an adopted person will 

never be able to contact his or her birth 

parents again. Adoptions may have some 

degree of openness, meaning that there is 

some communication between the birth 

and adoptive families—possibly including 

the adopted person.1 Additionally, the 

birth family or the adopted person may 

attempt a search and reunion later in life. 

The number of open adoptions (in which 

the birth and adoptive families know each 

other’s identities and have direct contact 

with the adopted child) and mediated 

adoptions (in which contacts between 

the birth and adoptive families are made 

indirectly through a mediator) are on 

the rise. In a 2012 survey of adoption 

agencies with infant adoption programs, 

the agencies reported that only 5 percent 

of their placements during the previous 2 

years were confidential, with 55 percent of 

the adoptions being fully disclosed and 40 

percent being mediated (Siegel & Livingston 

Smith, 2012). 

There are myriad reasons adopted persons 

may seek information about or contact 

with their birth families, such as a desire 

1 The level of communication between an adopted person and 

his or her birth family may vary due to the adopted person’s age 

and developmental level or the particular openness agreement 

of that adoption. Additionally, some adoption advocates believe 

that an adoption is only truly open when all members of the triad 

(the birth family, the adoptive family, and the adopted person) 

communicate with each other. 

to establish or reestablish a relationship, 

help further develop their own identity, or 

to obtain genetic or medical information. 

The desire to search may be prompted by 

specific life events, such as marriage or 

having children (Corder, 2012). Studies 

have shown that adopted persons rarely 

search for their birth parents because of a 

negative relationship with their adoptive 

parents (Muller & Perry, 2001). Perhaps half 

of all adopted adults search for identifying 

information or try to make contact with 

their birth parents (Curtis & Pearson, 2010; 

Evan B. Donaldson, 2010; Muller & Perry, 

2001). Adopted persons in an open adoption 

or who otherwise have contact with their 

birth parents generally have positive 

feelings about the relationships (Grotevant 

et al., 2007; Siegel, 2012) and are glad they 

searched (Penny et al., 2007). Some earlier 

studies, however, found that adopted 

persons who search for their parents may 

exhibit lower self-esteem, have lower 

family and friend support, have higher 

incidences of anger and depression, and 

more frequently use mental health services 

(Borders et al., 2000; Cubito & Obremski 

Brandon, 2000). 

For additional information about open 

adoption and birth family contact, visit 

Child Welfare Information Gateway: 

https://www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/

preplacement/adoption_openness.cfm 

For additional information about obtaining 

birth and/or adoption records, including 

State laws that govern this access, visit Child 

Welfare Information Gateway: https://www.

childwelfare.gov/adoption/search/records.

cfm
Impact of Adoption on Adopted Persons

7 This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare 

Information Gateway. Available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_adimpact.cfm

https://www.childwelfare.gov

With seemingly everything available on 

the Internet, adopted persons and birth 

families are much more easily able to 

find contact information and establish 

connections than they had been in 

the past. This increase in information 

availability is changing the landscape of 

privacy and confidentiality, including 

in adoption (Child Welfare Information 

Gateway, 2013b). With a simple Internet 

search or a review of social media sites, 

individuals may be able to quickly 

determine identities and establish 

connections. Search and reunion 

among birth parents and adopted 

persons is not new, but the speed at 

which it can occur is. Because of the 

sometimes instantaneous nature of the 

Internet, connections may be attempted 

without giving pause for self-reflection, 

consideration of the consequences, or 

assistance from support systems, such 

as family, friends, and professionals 

(Howard, 2012).

Since search and reunion can be 

enormously emotional and may tap 

into strong feelings of separation and 

loss, adoption professionals strongly 

recommend emotional preparation 

before search and reunion. Preparation 

will help individuals think through 

their expectations and prepare for a 

range of potential reactions from the 

other party, including rejection (Child 

Welfare Information Gateway, 2013a).

SEARCH AND REUNION 

AND THE INTERNET Managing 

Adoption Issues

Most adopted adults overcome any 

adoption-related issues they experience 

during childhood and adolescence and are 

as well-adjusted as nonadopted persons 

(Borders et al., 2000; Corder, 2012). 

However, there is also significant research 

that suggests that many adopted persons 

struggle with issues such as grief, loss, 

identity development, and self-esteem. The 

following describes some ways that adopted 

persons manage these and other issues.

Support Groups. Many adopted persons 

are helped by support groups in which they 

can talk about their feelings with others 

who have similar experiences. The support 

group may provide a long-needed outlet 

for any lingering feelings related to the 

adoption, such as loss or grief. In addition, 

support groups may provide help with 

the decision of whether to search for birth 

relatives. 

Counseling. Some adopted persons may 

need more help than they find from family 

and friends or through a support group. 

In these instances, adopted persons may 

seek professional counseling. Many mental 

health practitioners report not having 

enough training in adoption-related issues, 

so it is important for adopted adults to find 

a counselor who has the requisite skills, 

knowledge, and outlook (e.g., the counselor 

does not assume all issues are related to 

adoption) (Baden & Wiley, 2007; Corder, 

2012). Also, support groups may have 

experience with local counselors and be 

able to make a recommendation. For more 
Impact of Adoption on Adopted Persons https://www.childwelfare.gov

8 This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare 

Information Gateway. Available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_adimpact.cfm

information, read Selecting and Working With

a Therapist Skilled in Adoption, available on 

the Child Welfare Information Gateway 

website at https://www.childwelfare.gov/

pubs/f_therapist.cfm. 

Education. For many adopted persons, 

learning about the experiences of others, 

whether through first-person accounts 

or through adoption research, can be a 

helpful coping mechanism. There are an 

ever-increasing number of books, articles, 

videos, and websites (including blogs) that 

focus on a wide range of adoption-related 

topics. Adopted persons may be reassured 

discovering that others who have gone 

through similar experiences have had 

similar reactions. 

Conclusion

Adopted persons generally lead lives that 

are very similar to their nonadopted peers, 

but their adoption experience frequently 

can contribute to circumstances that the 

adopted person may need to overcome, 

such as feelings of loss and grief, questions 

about self-identity, or a lack of information 

about their medical background. The 

increasing occurrence of open adoption—

and therefore the increased contact adopted 

persons have with their birth families—

has dramatically affected the issues faced 

by adopted persons over the past two 

decades. Whereas adopted persons from a 

past era may have more frequently dealt 

with issues of secrecy and large gaps in 

information, persons adopted recently may 

more often be faced with issues related to 

having contact with their birth parents. 

Additionally, with the seemingly limitless 

availability of information, in large part 

due to the Internet, adopted persons now 

have access to widespread information and 

resources, which can greatly aid them in 

discovering information about their birth 

families or finding resources for support and 

encouragement. 

Resources

American Adoption Congress. This 

nonprofit membership organization 

provides education, advocacy, and support 

for families touched by adoption. http://

www.americanadoptioncongress.org/

Adoptees’ Liberty Movement 

Association (ALMA). This membership 

organization provides an adoption reunion 

registry and advocates for the right of 

adopted persons to know the truth of 

their origin. The ALMA registry has a onetime registration fee of $50. http://www.

almasociety.org

Child Welfare Information Gateway.

This service of the Children’s Bureau 

provides information and publications 

about a wide range of adoption topics. It 

also provides adoption statutes for each 

State.

• For Adopted People (web section) 

(https://www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/

adopt_people/) 

•	 Searching for Birth Relatives (https://www.

childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_search.cfm)

•	 Searching for Birth Relatives (list 

of organizations) (https://www.

childwelfare.gov/pubs/reslist/rl_dsp.

cfm?svcID=132&rate_chno=AR-0031A)
Impact of Adoption on Adopted Persons

9 This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare 

Information Gateway. Available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_adimpact.cfm

https://www.childwelfare.gov

•	 Openness in Adoption: Building

Relationships Between Adoptive and Birth

Families (https://www.childwelfare.gov/

pubs/f_openadopt.cfm) 

•	 Working With Birth and Adoptive

Families to Support Open Adoption

(https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_

openadoptbulletin.cfm)

• Laws Related to Adoption (https://www.

childwelfare.gov/adoption/laws/) 

•	 Impact of Adoption on Birth Parents

(https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_

impact/index.cfm) 

• National Foster Care & Adoption 

Directory Search (https://www.

childwelfare.gov/nfcad/) 

Donaldson Adoption Institute. The 

Adoption Institute provides information 

about a wide array of adoption issues. 

http://www.adoptioninstitute.org 

Minnesota/Texas Adoption Research 

Project. This website provides information 

on a longitudinal study of openness in 

adoption. http://www.psych.umass.edu/

adoption

Open Adoption Bloggers. This website 

lists more than 300 blogs about open 

adoption, including those by adopted 

persons, birth parents, and adoptive parents. 

http://openadoptionbloggers.com 

References

Baden, A. L., & O’Leary Wiley, M. (2007). 

Counseling adopted persons in 

adulthood: Integrating research and 

practice. The Counseling Psychologist, 35, 

868–901.

Borders, L. D., Penny, J. M., & Portnoy, F. 

(2000). Adult adoptees and their friends: 

Current functioning and psychosocial 

well-being. Family Relations, 49, 407–418.

Child Welfare Information Gateway. 

(2013a). Openness in adoption: Building

relationships between adoptive and birth

families. Retrieved from https://www.

childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_openadopt.cfm. 

Child Welfare Information Gateway. 

(2013b). Working with birth and adoptive

families to support open adoption. Retrieved 

from https://www.childwelfare.gov/

pubs/f_openadoptbulletin.cfm. 

Corder, K. (2012). Counseling adult 

adoptees. The Family Journal, 20, 448–452.

Cubito, D. S., & Obremski Brandon, K. 

(2000). Psychological adjustment in 

adult adoptees: Assessment of distress, 

depression, and anger. American Journal of

Orthopsychiatry, 70, 408–413.

Curtis, R., & Pearson, F. (2010). Contact with 

birth parents: Differential psychological 

adjustment for adults adopted as infants. 

Journal of Social Work, 10, 347–367.

Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. 

(2009). Beyond culture camp:

Promoting health identity formation in

adoption. Retrieved from http://www.

adoptioninstitute.org/research/2009_11_

culture_camp.php. 
Impact of Adoption on Adopted Persons https://www.childwelfare.gov

10 This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare 

Information Gateway. Available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_adimpact.cfm

Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. 

(2010). For the records II: An examination

of the history and impact of adult adoptee

access to original birth certificates. Retrieved 

from http://www.adoptioninstitute.org/

publications/7_14_2010_ForTheRecordsII.

pdf.

Feigelman, W. (2005). Are adoptees at 

increased risk for attempting suicide? 

Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 32, 

206–216.

Grotevant, H. D. (1997). Coming to 

terms with adoption: The construction 

of identity from adolescence into 

adulthood. Adoption Quarterly, 1, 3–27.

Grotevant, H. D., Miller Wrobel, G., Von 

Korff, L., Skinner, B., Newell, J., Friese, 

S., & McRoy, R. G. (2007). Many faces 

of openness in adoption: Perspectives of 

adopted adolescents and their parents. 

Adoption Quarterly, 10, 79–101.

Grotevant, H. D., van Dulmen, M. H. M., 

Dunbar, N., Nelson-Christinedaughter, J., 

Christensen, M., Fan, X., & Miller, B. C. 

(2006). Antisocial behavior of adoptees 

and nonadoptees: Prediction from early 

history and adolescent relationships. 

Journal of Research on Adolescents, 16, 

105–131.

Howard, J. A. (2012). Untangling the web:

The Internet’s transformative impact on

adoption. Retrieved from http://www.

adoptioninstitute.org/research/2012_12_

UntanglingtheWeb.php. 

Kohler, J. K., Grotevant, H. D., & McRoy, 

R. G. (2002). Adopted adolescents’ 

preoccupation with adoption: The impact 

on adoptive family relationships. Journal

of Marriage and Family, 64, 93–104.

Miller, B. C., Fan, X., Grotevant, H. 

D., Christensen, M., Coyl, D., & 

van Dulment, M. (2000). Adopted 

adolescents’ overrepresentation in mental 

health counseling: Adoptees’ problems 

or parents’ lower threshold for referral? 

Journal of American Academy of Child &

Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 1504–1511.

Muller, U., & Perry, B. (2001). Adopted 

persons’ search for and contact with their 

birth parents I: Who searches and why? 

Adoption Quarterly, 4, 5–37.

Penny, J., Borders, L. D., & Portnoy, F. 

(2007). Reconstruction of adoption 

issues: Delineation of five phases among 

adult adoptees. Journal of Counseling &

Development, 85(1), 30–41.

Powell, K. A., & Afifi, T. D. (2005). 

Uncertainty management and adoptees’ 

ambiguous loss of their birth parents. 

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships,

22, 129–151.

Sharma, A. R., McGue, M. K., & Benson, P. 

L. (1996). The emotional and behavioral 

adjustment of United States adopted 

adolescents: Part I. An overview. Children

and Youth Services Review, 18(1/2), 83–100.

Siegel, D. H. (2012). Growing up in open 

adoption: Young adults’ perspectives. 

Families in Society: The Journal of

Contemporary Social Services, 93, 133–140.
Impact of Adoption on Adopted Persons https://www.childwelfare.gov

Siegel, D. H., & Livingston Smith, S. 

(2012). Openness in adoption: From

secrecy and stigma to knowledge and

connections. Retrieved from http://www.

adoptioninstitute.org/research/2012_03_

openness.php. 

Yoon, G., Westermeyer, J., Warwick, M., & 

Kuskowski, M. A. (2012). Substance use 

disorders and adoption: Findings from a 

national sample. PLoS ONE, 7. Retrieved 

from http://www.plosone.org/article/

info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.

pone.0049655. doi:10.1371/journal.

pone.0049655

Suggested Citation: 

Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2013). 

Impact of adoption on adopted persons. 

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of 

Health and Human Services, Children’s 

Bureau.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Administration for Children and Families

Administration on Children, Youth and Families

Children’s Bureau