The study objectives were (1) to determine if there were any associations between the time spent observing fictional appeals and identification accuracy, (2) to establish if the number of missing children photographs observed influences identification accuracy and (3) to determine whether the number of missing children appeals observed influences identification accuracy following a short 3-day delay. A two-stage approach was utilised. Two hundred and forty-two participants observed one, four or eight mock missing children photographs followed by a short word memory distraction task and a target present line-up identification task. The second stage comprised of another target present line-up identification task presented after a short 3-day delay. One-way between-group ANOVAs indicate that observing one missing child photograph has significantly greater overall identification accuracy and lower identification error than viewing four or eight photographs immediately after observing the appeal and following a 3-day delay. Additional analyses found that the identification accuracy was significantly higher immediately after observation compared with the identification accuracy following a 3-day delay. The findings demonstrate the necessity for improving missing children appeals. Due to the exploratory nature of the study, additional research is required to explore these factors further. Keywords Child rescue alerts. Missing children. Missing persons. Publicity appeals. Recall accuracy An estimated 340,000 missing persons incidents are created each year within the UK, equal to one report every 90 seconds (Missing People 2018; National Crime Agency [NCA] 2017). Of these, approximately 60% relates to missing children although this is likely to be a significant underestimation (Hayden and Shalev-Greene 2016; Hill et al. 2016; Kiepal et al. 2012; Shalev et al. 2009). A common approach in this situation is for the police, family, friends, and charities to release a photograph of the missing children through the media in the hope that the public can help identify and locate the missing child (Lampinen et al. 2009; Lampinen et al. 2012a; Sweeney and Lampinen 2012). The use of the media is a vital resource for the police as it allows the photograph of the missing child to be viewed by a limitless number of individuals in a very short period of time (Fyfe et al. 2014; Taylor et al. 2013).

Increased implementation of loot boxes within computer games has received widespread concern for the wellbeing of gamers, especially given the increased engagement during COVID-19 restrictions. Loot boxes share similarities with traditional gambling mechanisms that influence addiction-like behaviours and the amount of money spent on in-game items. The present study investigated loot box expenditure alongside peer engagement, perceptions of gaming value, self-worth, and problematic gambling behaviours of 130 Call of Duty players.Results identified significantly higher Risky Loot Box Index and visual authority scores for high-risk and medium-risk problem gamblers than non-problem gamblers. High-risk problem gamblers were also found to have higher purchase intention and validation seeking scores than non-problem gamblers. However, problem gambling risk and all but three self-worth and perceived value subscale behaviours were not associated with loot box expenditure, contrasting previous findings. Concerning peer influence, non-problem gamblers were significantly less likely to play any Call of Duty game with friends whilst having all or most friends purchase loot boxes were also found to be associated with higher RLBI scores. The findings continue to support the associations between loot box engagement and problematic gambling and suggests the need to continue to explore individual in-game motivations for engaging with microtransactions.

When a child goes missing, it is commonplace to release details of the child in the hope that a member of the public can help to locate him or her. Despite their importance and daily usage, there remains a significant gap in understanding just how effective these appeals are in helping to locate missing children. This exploratory study utilized a two-stage approach and sought (1) to explore whether the length of the description and the type of content enclosed in the description influenced subsequent recall abilities, (2) to determine whether the length of time spent reading the mock appeal influences the subsequent recall ability, (3) to establish whether confidence in own recall ability is associated with overall recall ability, and (4) to determine whether descriptive length and content influences the subsequent recall ability following a 3-day break. Two hundred and twenty-three participants observed one of four mock missing children descriptions followed by a short word memory distraction task and a free-recall task. The second stage comprised of another free-recall task presented after a short 3-day delay. Two-way factorial ANOVAs found observing shorter descriptions have significantly greater recall accuracy than observing longer descriptions both immediately after observing the appeal and after a 3-day delay. Results also found that newsworthy descriptive content had a greater recall accuracy than non-newsworthy descriptive content after a 3-day delay. Additional analyses found that confidence in own accuracy and time spent observing the appeals was also significantly associated with recall accuracy. The findings demonstrate the necessity for improving missing children appeals.

When a child goes missing it is common practice to release an appeal of the child in the hope that a member of the public could help to identify and locate them. Despite being an everyday occurrence, there remains a significant gap in our understanding of how effective these appeals are. The present study sought to explore the effectiveness of missing children appeals through the recall accuracy of the general public immediately after observing the appeals and again after a three-day delay. One hundred and eighty-two participants observed either a mock Child Rescue Alert or a mock Twitter appeal. The results found no significant difference in recall accuracy between the design of the appeals although there was a significant difference in recall error. Confidence in own recall accuracy and the length of time spent observing the appeals were also found to be significantly associated with recall accuracy. Initial recall accuracy scores were significantly higher than recall accuracy scores following a three-day break. This exploratory study demonstrates the requirement to improve missing children appeals and lays the foundation for future studies to build on these findings further.

Releasing missing person appeals is common practice when someone goes missing. Despite the wide-scale usage, the understanding on appeal effectiveness remains under-researched. This article aims to identify the factors that influence the likelihood of members of the public to report a child that has gone missing to the police and requires police assistance. Participant responses ( n = 252) were qualitatively analysed identifying four factors that positively influenced the likelihood of contacting the police, and two factors that negatively influenced the likelihood of not contacting the police to report the child. Practical implications are also discussed.