Does Drug Use Alter Adults’ Liking of Child Faces? Testing the Impact of Heroin and Methamphetamine on the Baby Schema Effect

Abstract The baby schema effect, an innate preference for infantile facial features, is linked to the brain’s reward system, which can be disrupted in drug use disorders. To examine the impact of drug use disorder on the baby schema effect, 28 participants with heroin use disorder (HUD), 41 individuals with methamphetamine use disorder (MUD), and 39 controls rated their liking of faces from four child age groups (infants to six years) and adults on a 7-point scale. All participant groups demonstrated a baby schema effect, giving higher likeability ratings to child faces than to adult faces. However, women with MUD showed reduced liking for children’s faces above 2.15 years old compared to controls, an effect not found in males or in individuals with HUD; having siblings appeared to buffer this reduction. These findings suggest MUD may diminish the baby schema effect in females, shortening the duration it is experienced towards children.