![\"Mom](\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/adoption-assistance\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2016\/07\/photo_learn_search.jpg\")
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Thinking about adoption search is normal and natural. It occurs for all adoptees, regardless of the success of the adoption experience. Experts in the field of adoption and search, David Brodzinsky and Marshall Schecter, report that 100 percent of children who experience separation from their birth families will search in some way. This may not be a literal search but could be as simple as self-exploration (The Psychology of Adoption<\/em>). Adolescents may be particularly interested in adoption search and exploring birth family information as exploration of identity is part of normal teenage development. For children not raised within their biological family, answering the question, “Who Am I?” is complicated. In cases where teens have some information, the process of navigating identity formation is eased.<\/p>\n \u201cAt some point during our adoption journey, I may ask about or want to search for my birth family. You may tell me that being blood related doesn\u2019t matter, but not having that kind of connection to someone has left a void in my life. You will always be my family and you will always be my parent. If I ask about or search for my birth family, it doesn\u2019t mean I love you any less. I need you to know that living my life without knowledge of my birth family has been like working on a puzzle with missing pieces. Knowing my birth family may help me feel more complete.\u201d Learn more about common reasons people search. ><\/a><\/p>\n Untangling the Web: The Internet\u2019s Transformative Impact on Adoption<\/strong> The first-ever examination of the Internet\u2019s impact on adoption, released in December 2012, concludes that social media and other elements of this modern technology are having “transformative” effects \u2013 positive and negative \u2013 on adoption policy and practice and millions of people\u2019s lives, while raising serious legal, ethical and procedural concerns that have yet to be addressed. Read full report ><\/a><\/p>\n To Search or Not to Search<\/a><\/strong> Searching for Birth Relatives <\/a><\/strong> Frequently Asked Questions about Adult Adoption Search<\/a><\/strong>
\nChristina Romo<\/a>
\nAdopted from South Korea at age two<\/p><\/blockquote>\nLearn More<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Featured Reading<\/h3>\n
\nDonaldson Adoption Institute, 2012<\/em><\/p>\nArticles and Websites<\/h3>\n
\nCoalition for Children, Youth and Families, in partnership with Wisconsin DCF, 2015<\/em><\/p>\n
\nChild Welfare Information Gateway, December 2011<\/em><\/p>\n
\nFrom Connecticut Department of Children and Families<\/em>
\nInformation on Connecticut Search Law and the Search process.<\/p>\n