Parental Website-Descriptions of Children's Imaginary Companions

Francine C Jellesma,Peter J Hoffenaar

doi:10.5334/pb-53-1-117

Abstract

Past research shows that imaginary companions are a normal phenomenon in childhood and do not indicate risk for psychopathology. The aim of this study was to see if parents are nevertheless concerned about imaginary companions. Internet-forums were searched in English, German, and Dutch in order to answer this question. Parental messages about present imaginary companions were analysed. Analyses of 89 posts made on a diverse set of internet-forums for parents revealed that half the parents expressed concerns about imaginary companions, especially parents with children older than 4.5 years old. When the imaginary companion was older than the child, parents were more likely to be concerned. Almost all messages were about imaginary companions, which might indicate that parents are less concerned about personified objects. The results signify that parents need more information in order to ensure they know imaginary companions are a normal childhood-experience.

Highlights

Imagine a child talking to her mother clearly jealous of a toy that another girl has, pointing at a space where no one is standing! This might seem like odd behaviour
Many children had a imaginary companion of the same gender (41.9%) or multiple imaginary companions at least one of which was of the same gender (35.5%)
The results of the current study show that there are parents who are concerned about the pretend friends their children have

Summary

Introduction

Imagine a child talking to her mother clearly jealous of a toy that another girl has, pointing at a space where no one is standing! This might seem like odd behaviour. The child may be talking about an ‘imaginary friend’ (defined as make-belief friends or playmates). In this case, the behaviour is quite normal. Having an imaginary or pretend companion, is a common experience for schoolchildren. Several studies have been carried out investigating differences between children with and without experiences of imaginary companions. None of these studies indicate that imaginary companions are a signal for psychopathology (Gleason, Jarudi, & Cheeks, 2003; Taylor, 1999; Taylor et al, 2004). In other words: parents might worry about whether it is normal for their child to have a pretend friend even though pretend friends are a common, normal phenom-

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