ABSTRACT
The literature which addresses the impact upon adults who receive family background information later in life is dominated by a focus on adoption. Adoption in general, and access to birth records by adoptees in particular, have received considerable attention in the literature, in contrast to the paucity of studies of the non-adopted care population. J. Triseliotis interviewed 70 Scottish adoptees who had sought their birth records and found that they fell into two distinct groups: those who wanted to find a birth parent, and those who simply wanted to obtain background genealogical information. The majority wanted to find out about both birth parents and possible siblings. Adoption research into access to birth records under Section 51 of the 1975 Children Act is likely to shed considerable light on issues related to adults who have not been adopted but who, having grown up apart from their families of birth, seek information about their origins.
