Boys could wait longer to be adopted as they are perceived as being more trouble and harder to parent, according to a new study.

The research commissioned by the British Association for Adoption & Fostering (BAAF) is part of its National Adoption Week, which started on Monday.

Results in the South East show one in five people think boys are tougher to parent than girls, while 45 per cent of people thought there was a nationwide perception of boys being more trouble.

And just over half of those asked felt the media played a big part in the perception of boys and believed it portrayed them in an overly negative way.

However Reading-based adoption and fostering agency Parents and Children Together (PACT) disagreed with the results.

Select the following link to read the whole article: Reading Post 12 November 2008