The current EGDS sample was recruited between January 2003 and January 2006 using a rolling recruitment procedure implemented by three recruitment sites in the United States: Mid-Atlantic (based at George Washington University), West/Southwest (based at the University of California, Davis), and Pacific Northwest (based at the Oregon Social Learning Center). The first step was the recruitment of adoption agencies into the study (N = 33 agencies in 10 states). The agencies reflected the range of adoption agencies in the United States: public, private, religious, secular, open adoption philosophies, and more closed adoption philosophies. The EGDS participants currently reside in 45 states and three foreign countries due to individuals working with out-of-state adoption agencies and participant mobility. Each adoption agency appointed an agency liaison from their organization to perform the initial stages of recruitment into the study. The liaisons received recruitment training by the EGDS staff, and the agencies were provided an honorarium for their efforts assisting with recruitment.
