Amongst non-searchers, there was an even split between those who said that they had not thought about searching and those who said they had actually thought about searching but had done nothing about it. About half of non-searchers said that they felt that their adoptive parents were their `real parents' and that they did not wish to upset them by contemplating a search. A third also felt worried that further information about their adoption might either be unpleasant or upsetting.

Three quarters of non-searchers felt that it was right for adoption agencies to let them know that a birth relative had made an approach seeking contact. The most likely birth relative to try and make contact was the birth mother (71%). About a quarter of contacts were made by a birth sibling. One in ten non-searchers did not wish to have contact with the approaching birth relative. Some non-searchers who had never thought about searching found dealing with the approach of a birth relative an unsettling experience. Three quarters of non-searchers had not heard of the Adoption Contact Register.