Furious but forgiving: Expert says foundling babies will often seek parents
Professor Lorraine Sherr, a clinical psychologist from the University College London, has studied foundlings and how abandonment can affect them.
While the mental health burden can last a lifetime, other factors can be more important when it comes to coping with the knowledge of their background.
“The circumstance of how the child is abandoned isn’t as likely to have as much of an effect on psychology as whether it was subsequently adopted into a good home with a good family. “We found that many people we spoke to want to look back to understand the motivation of their mother, and that can really make them feel quite wretched. How they were abandoned really matters, and they start to interpret that.
“A lot of people who participated in our studies think, ‘my mother must have loved me at least a little bit because of where she left me and I was wrapped in a nice blanket’. “They are trying to understand what happened to them. And many, although there is a bit of anger, are quite forgiving.
“Peter’s attitude is quite common. I was overwhelmed at times by the attitudes of some of these people who have been abandoned as it tends to be forgiving.”
Some foundlings fare better psychologically than others – and, according to professor Sherr, that may come down to when in life they discover their background.
“It tends to be the people with the least problems are those who are told quite early,” she explained. “Those who found out later often have a lot of anger, often they have issues with their families and obviously there’s a strong desire for reunification or resolution. “What often doesn’t help is the procedures in place aren’t helpful
– for example, police records are destroyed after a number of years. So when they go to hunt down their birth parents they’re frustrated because it’s very difficult, if not impossible. “Thankfully, with DNA family technology and better communication, reunification is hopefully becoming easier.”