Scoping review highlights benefits and challenges of peer-based support groups for adult adoptees, suggesting a need for further research.
Research has shown the enduring and varied impact of closed adoption on adoptees' needs. Yet support tends to be informal, often in the form of peer-led groups. As this topic has attracted limited research, this scoping review sought to synthesize the available evidence. A search of 4 databases identified 2,943 publications, of which 12 met the inclusion criteria. The review shows benefits and challenges of peer-based group support. It provides a synthesis of common themes: efficacy and outcomes, barriers and facilitators, participant characteristics and experiences, intent and types of groups. Further research is needed to evaluate the efficacy of peer-based group support.
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Huggins et al. (2025) studied this question.
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