Face recognition abilities of a long-term missing female child missing for 14 years

Millions of children go missing both nationally and internationally every year. Some are found alive and unharmed, others have horrific endings to their lives at the hands of their abductors, and then there are those still missing. In our study 363 participants agreed to participate in a simulated AMBER Alert (AA) where a 7-year-old girl appeared in the AA. Participants were randomly assigned to one of seven different AA conditions where each participant was shown the missing child's original photo from the alert; plus, an additional photo of the same child at ages (e.g., 7, 10, 13, 16, 18, 19, & 21). Participants were told the abductor sent proof of life from a non-custodial parent photo every 2–3 years. We tested participants' scores on individual personality traits of conscientiousness (IPIP) and the Basic Empathy Scale (BES) Emotional Contagion, Cognitive Empathy, and Emotional Disconnection scores. Additionally, we measured predictor variables including demographic variables of gender, ethnicity, and age. The only significant predictor variable was gender. Overall, the short-haired photo produced greater recognition as compared to the longer-length hair photo when the AA showed the target at 21 years of age, while the longer hair length photo was recognised at a higher rate when the AA showed the target at 7 years of age. The practical implications of our study suggest parents should keep updated photos of their child in case their child goes missing. Other individual personality characteristics such as optimism, hope, and compassion, should be explored as well