ABSTRACT
Adolescence is, above all, a time for measuring up to the reality of personal existence; the ‘facts of life’ come into focus and it is a time for passing muster in the world of adult human beings. The whole psychic climate moves inexorably towards the need to engage with reality, internal and external, and it is the degree to which these realities can be faced that will determine how satisfyingly adult life can be experienced. When this crucial adaptation to reality has to include the experience of adoption, the task is all the greater.
