82% of adoptees feel misunderstood: adoptee voices enquiry report
The All-Party Parliamentary Group of Adoption and Permanence (APPGAP) published its Adoptee Voices Inquiry Report on the 28th January, 2026.
The report brings together the experiences of more than 300 adopted young people aged 13–25 covering issues of identity, health and wellbeing, and education, throughout teenage years and into adulthood.
The report’s executive summary makes for compelling reading, summarising the findings of the APPGAP’s Adoptee Voices inquiry, which explored the experiences of adoptees aged 13–25 in three key areas: identity, health and wellbeing, and education. Over 300 adopted young people participated in the inquiry through surveys and discussions.
For many of us the common issues and challenges faced by adult adoptees, especially those of us that belong to the cohort of adoptees subject to the period of closed or forced adoptions, will for ever be intrinsically connected with fallings associated with historic past practices, societal beliefs and behaviours of the time.
Several key takeaways from the report:
“82% of adoptees said society and government do not understand or support adopted young people”
“1 in 3 of adoptees said they do not feel confident in their identity or fully understand their own story“
“Half of adoptees said they do not feel part of a community that truly understands them”
It is both disappointing and upsetting to read that despite significant changes to policy, shifts in public perception and greater ‘monitoring’ and ‘support’ that many of the same fundamental feelings and challenges still exist for today’s cohort of young adoptees.
All the more reason why adoptee-led organisations are vital in supporting one another. Please feel free to promote your organisation or group below so we can make this community even more robust.
Executive summary: APPGAP Adoptee Voices inquiry exec summary (pdf)
Full report: APPGAP Adoptee Voices inquiry report (pdf)
Press release: APPG Adoption and Permanence PR Adoptee Voices Inquiry