Adoptee Remembrance Day, New research on adoptee suicidality, and other resources
Published about 1 month ago • 14 min read
There is new research about adoptee suicidality from Sweden. The Swedish register data has been essential in providing data not dependent on surveys and population sample (Hjern, et. al., 2020). This new article by Hübinette, Iversen, & Strand (2026) is a qualitative review of what has contributed to suicidality. They reviewed 99 newspaper and magazine articles published between 1988 and 2025 and found 12 themes that appeared in at least 10 separate texts:
bullying (45 texts),
alcohol and substance abuse (31 texts),
sexual abuse (29 texts),
out-of-home placement (25 texts),
psychiatric diagnosis (22 texts),
self-inflicted harm (22 texts),
aggression and other externalizing behaviors (20 texts),
mistreatment and neglect (16 texts),
school problems (16 texts),
self-destructive sexual behaviors (14 texts),
criminality (11 texts), and
identifying as LGBTQ (10 texts)
The lit review also provided some additional data for intercountry adoptees that is pretty important. I will be making several new slides. As I read through the article, I asked AI to help me find comparison data for some of the numbers. When looking at rates for sexual abuse perpetrated by a parent, even AI reflected, 'these rates are alarming given that adoptive families undergo extensive professional screening, financial audits, and legal home studies prior to placement.' We (therapists) cannot assume adoptive families are good or safe. Even if the family is 'safe enough', they may not realize the additional risks for their kids and need additional education.
Every month, I include a list of articles that I think you should read or at least skim. This month I want to highlight what I think is a must read ‘Dehumanizing’ Placements in Hotels and Offices: First-Ever National Survey Finds Thousands of Foster Youth Are Sent to Substandard Emergency Placements from Imprint News. While many of us are probably aware that this is an issue, you may not realize just how widespread - or how substandard - that it is. As one young adult who experienced this said, “Foster care itself is a dehumanizing experience, but the DCS offices were another level. I expect policymakers to recognize this issue for the human rights abuse that it is.”
Twenty states described “expanded access to behavioral and mental health services” as a necessary intervention for this problem. We have missed the plot. By focusing on therapy as a possible solution, they are suggesting that sleeping in a DCS office is somehow the kid's fault at worst or due to the foster parents' inability to handle the mental health needs of the child in their care at best. Even in that best case scenario, if the child has to sleep in a DCS office because there is no one who can provide the care this child needs, it is a failure of properly training and recruiting and providing care. We have to remember to consider what the thing is behind the thing. We are the adults in the situation. Is therapy important?-of course, but it isn't the solution to our inability to provide appropriate housing for kids. The irony is loud.
Adoptee Remembrance Day, observed globally each year on October 30th, is a day of truth, remembrance, awareness, and solidarity. Above all, it is a sacred space to remember adoptees whose lives ended too soon and to bring visibility to the realities within adoption that are too often ignored, minimized, or forgotten.
We remember adoptees who died by suicide and those murdered by adoptive parents or others entrusted with their care. We remember adoptees lost through abuse, neglect, addiction, homelessness, institutionalization, troubled teen industry, incarceration, deportation, systemic failures, and other devastating circumstances. We honor adoptees who survived these experiences and continue carrying their impact today.
Did you know that only 8.14% of adoptees rate their therapist as adoption-competent? Dr. Abby Hasberry and I built this training specifically to move that number and equip clinicians with the deep, nuanced insights needed to truly support the adoption constellation.
We'll cover the full constellation — first parents, adoptees, adoptive parents, and those impacted by foster care — alongside neurodevelopment, diagnosis and conceptualization, research, systems, racism, and adoption history.
To support systemic equity and continuing education access for clinicians within the community, an Access & Inclusion Rate is available for all adoptee and first-parent therapists.
Share your maternity home experience: a Columbia Law School research study
Have you lived, worked, or volunteered in a religiously-run “maternity home” in the United States? Not every program uses that name: many describe themselves as shelters, crisis housing, or residential programs for pregnant women. If it provided housing and support during pregnancy, we want to hear from you, whatever it was called.
Researchers at the Law, Rights & Religion Project at Columbia Law School are documenting experiences in these residential programs: the support they provide, the rules and requirements residents live under, and how they shape people’s choices during and after pregnancy. This research will inform a public report for advocates and policymakers, and it depends on hearing from the people who know these homes best.
If you have direct experience with a maternity home anytime in the past 10 years: as a resident, staff member, volunteer, or family member: we would be honored to hear from you, on your terms. Conversations are confidential, participation is entirely voluntary, and you decide what you share.
To learn more or share your experience, email our team directly at team@lawrightsreligion.org. We’ll follow up to find a time that works for you.
To participate, you must be 18 years or older, be adopted, and have underwent residential treatment in the Troubled Teen Industry as a teenager.
Helder, E. J., DeVries, K., Horstman, H. K., Henness, J., Davis, Z., Grimes, R., Lam, E., Arakelian, G., Warren, C., & Lyssy, K. (2026). Adult Adoptees’ Perceptions of the Impact of Memorable Messages About Religion and Adoption. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075261483309
Abstract This qualitative study explored adult adoptees’ perceptions of the impact of memorable messages about religion and adoption that they received while growing up in Christian adoptive families. Situated within the theory of memorable messages, the research examined the perceived impact of these memorable messages on adoptees’ relationships, identity development, emotional well-being, and religiousness. Forty-one adult adoptees participated in semi-structured interviews regarding religious memorable messages about adoption, such as being chosen, saved/rescued, adoption being part of God’s plan, and described the perceived impact of receiving these messages from adoptive family and church members while growing up. The majority of participants perceived negative or difficult impacts of the messages, such as inauthentic or alienated family relationships, barriers to adoptive or racial identity development, and emotional difficulties. Additionally, in response to these messages, participants reported a need to renegotiate relationships with religion and religious communities, either by holding on to parts of religion while letting go of messages they had been told or by cutting ties with religion entirely. Conversely, a minority described religious memorable messages as emotionally comforting, faith-affirming, celebrating of their identity, and leading to a deepening of relationships. Overall, adoptees’ retrospective sense-making seemed to shape their perceived impact of messages, supporting the theory of memorable messages’ emphasis on interpretive processes over time. The findings contribute to scholarship on adoptee identity formation and emotional well-being. Additionally, findings related to estrangement and factors contributing to religious disaffiliation have implications for the broader literature on these topics across various family forms.
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Hübinette, T., Iversen, C., & Strand, M. (2026). Adoptee Testimonials of Suffering—Transnational Adoptees and the Issue of Suicidality in Swedish Media Texts, 1988–2025. Adoption Quarterly, 1–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926755.2026.2730137
ABSTRACT
For well over two decades, quantitative research has repeatedly found that suicide attempts and suicides are up to four times more common among transnational adoptees compared to the general population in Sweden. Even so, the Swedish healthcare sector and society at large have failed to address the vulnerable situation of the more than 60,000 foreign-born adoptees in the country. This qualitative study is the first of its kind and draws on accounts of being a foreign-born adoptee as they appear in Swedish media texts between 1988 and 2025. The study explores the themes that adoptees raise regarding their experiences of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. The texts are thematically analyzed within the framework of Miranda Fricker’s theory of epistemic injustice. The study focuses on two themes: mistreatment and abuse, and bullying and school problems, which, taken together, shed new light on and offer a nuanced understanding of the overrepresentation of suicide attempts and suicides among transnational adoptees.
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Singh, M. K., & Saha, S. (2027). Resilience pathways in the schooling of adopted children. In G. B. Seyhan (Ed.), Adoption in educational settings: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 35–58). IGI Global. doi.org DOI: 10.4018/979-8-2600-0031-1.ch002
ABSTRACT
Adopted children often have unique life experiences that influence how they learn and interact in school. However, adoption is rarely discussed in educational research. This chapter explores how adopted children adjust and succeed in school by introducing the idea of “resilience pathways.” It explains resilience as a process that develops through the interaction of personal strengths, supportive relationships, and inclusive school environments. Drawing on attachment theory, resilience theory, and ecological systems theory, the chapter examines four key areas: identity development, academic engagement, peer relationships, and school transitions. It highlights how teachers, peers, and school policies can support adopted students through trauma-informed practices, inclusive curricula, and strong home–school partnerships. The chapter argues that schools play an important role in helping adopted children feel safe, included, and confident, enabling them not only to cope with challenges but also to grow and succeed academically and socially.
Come see Me
NAAP announced they will host a conference in Indianapolis, so of course I will be there. Cherish Bolton and I will be sharing "Brainspotting: an anti-oppressive therapy for the adoption constellation" Let me know if you're coming! Save the date: April 22–24, 2027. Registration opens November 2026
Currently available in six languages: English, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin, Haitian Kreyol, and French
Unlike paper or PDF-based emergency plans, ReadyNow! is built for real-time response. If users have a run-in with ICE, they simply press the big red alert button and ReadyNow! will send out those emergency messages via SMS to pre-assigned contacts. All data is encrypted, stored only on the user’s device, not on the Cloud, and deleted after an alert is sent—preventing access by ICE if the phone is seized.
Adoptees United’sCitizenship Clinic assists intercountry adopted people with US citizenship or immigration issues. The clinic’s services include legal screenings, consultation and advice about legal options, and legal representation to secure a Certificate of Citizenship or, if needed, a Certificate of Naturalization.
This website collects community-submitted information about possible ICE activity to help inform the public and raise awareness. All reports are reviewed by a moderator team before appearing on the map and the map is cleared at the end of each day.
AFFCNY has put together two really thorough lists of resources. The Immigration Resources pictured below includes a listing of several legal resources and other information. The Citizenship Resource for Intercountry Adoptees resources is also full of very helpful links. They have also invited Greg Luce to be a Keynote for their May conference.
NAKASEC also has a 24/7 hotline, where you can call and receive live confidential assistance in English or Korean. If you or someone you love is confronted by police/ICE/CBP or has been detained, you can call 1 844 500 3222 for immediate support. For non-emergency calls, such as requesting help determining your immigration status, please contact legal@adoptees4justice.org.
Thank you for your commitment to practicing excellence!
