I think that one of the things that need to be addressed is the decision to search. Studies are being done every year and it is an ever changing world. Yesterday’s data does not necessarily apply to today but the common characteristic in data is that the patterns are the same and some general conclusions can be made.

One of the most common questions that I have encountered in the past 17 years in the adoption community is from those who are NOT adopted. They typically want to know “How Many Search”.

The answer to this question isn’t really straight forward and greatly depends on what is meant by “search”. There are so many factors that influence the search it self. Some of these factors are sealed records, the expense involved in searching, and the emotional roller coaster of a search, all effect the search. In addition, the attitude of society that adoptees who search are ungrateful with emotional problems has diminished. Most non adopted persons didn’t and still don’t even realize that an adoptee can NOT obtain a copy of their original birth certificate.
As far as those who start a search, researchers Brodzinsky, Schechter, and Henig, in their work "Being Adopted, The Lifelong Search for Self", assert that 100% of adoptees search in some fashion, sometimes simply an "intrapsychic" search, which they describe as fantasies and inner contemplation. Those who take the search through to the next step appear to number between 15 and 40%. For those of you interested in taking a closer look at the studies that report these disparate figures, I recommend the Scottish studies detailed in J. Triseliotis' "In Search of Origins: The Experience of Adopted People", available through London, Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Who searches and why is another question that I have been commonly asked. I think that I personally would have to say that the typical searcher is looking for information not hoping to replace the family that raised and loved them. It really has nothing to do with the adoptee’s satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the adoptive family but rather everything to do with the adoptee. In fact, I am of the opinion that those who search were actually happy in their adoptive homes and decide to search because they have a stronger self confidence. Those who might not have been so happy might choose not to search because of a sense of guilt or anger or a loyalty to their adoptive family.
The other “search trigger” seems to be a life event in the adoptees life such as marriage, death of an adoptive parent, college graduation, leaving home, or the birth of a child. I am not sure why. As we face my adoptive fathers rapidly declining health, I can say that this situation for me has triggered a wondering of who my birth father is. This person has existed as a ghost or fantasy all my life.
Some will say that adoptees search to satisfy the need of power of choice or to take control of a situation that was out of the adoptees control at birth. Of course, I believe this is true when it comes to search and in was true in my own search. What I learned though is that no matter how much one feels like they are in control, they really can’t control the out come of situations or the lives of others. I wasn’t able to control the death of my birth mother and had to deal with loss and grief of finding a grave.
When I decided to search and through out my entire search, I said that medical history information was my reason for searching. Of course this is important to know our families medical problems in order to combat our own medical issues and possibly avoid future ones but for me, in hindsight, it was less emotional and a readily understandable reason to tell friends, family, and strangers. It was a way for me to justify completing my search since their was no updated medical history available to me and I was able to avoid a lot of those questions of loyalty to my adoptive parents. I think it also was a way to protect myself from rejection. When searching, I had thought that I had covered all my basis and had emotionally prepared myself for every possible outcome. When I found a grave, I realized standing at my birth mothers grave that I needed more than medical information. I needed to have a relationship. Finding a grave was one thing that I was not prepared for nor did I even consider it a possibility during my search. So, my suggestion to everyone who uses this as their primary reason for searching, is to do some soul searching for your motivation to search and at the same time think about the possible consequences. What is at the end of a search is not a completed medical questionnaire but real live folks who will have their own ideas, feelings, and opinions about what they want out of contact and reunion.
Another reason adoptees choose to search is the desire to see what their birth parents look like, what their talents are, and what their personalities are like. The curiosity of searching is rooted in genetics. Once I found my birth family, I was floored by the way my extended family looked at my hands and compared them to one anothers and said things like “oh my those are so and so’s hands.