Children's Imaginary Companions Research Articles

Prevalence of imaginary companions among Chinese children aged 4 to 6 years

We investigated the prevalence of Chinese children's imaginary companions (ICs) and the internal variables of IC types (personified object or invisible friend) and child–IC relationship qualities (egalitarian or hierarchical child–IC relationship). Participants were 266 children aged 4 to 6 years. Only in the 5-year-old group was the proportion of children with ICs significantly higher among girls than among boys, implying that the relationship between gender and IC was not consistent across age groups. Children from families in the highest annual income group engaged in more IC play than did children from families in the lowest annual income group, indicating a relationship between family socioeconomic environment and children's imaginary play. IC types were not associated with child–IC relationship qualities in any of the age groups, implying that these qualities may represent different dimensions of IC play as early as 4 years old.

Relationship between Chinese children's imaginary companions and their understanding of second-order false beliefs and emotions.

We investigated relationship between Chinese children's imaginary companions (ICs) and their understanding of second-order false beliefs and emotions in 180 children, aged 5-6 years old. We examined the potential differences in second-order false belief understanding and emotion understanding between children with and without ICs, children with egalitarian IC relationships and hierarchical IC relationships, as well as children with invisible friends and personified objects. The results revealed that children with ICs had better second-order false belief understanding and emotion understanding than children without ICs. Compared with children with hierarchical relationships, children with egalitarian relationships had better second-order false belief understanding. However, children with invisible friends and personified objects did not differ on their understanding of second-order false beliefs and emotions. The results suggest that compared with IC types, IC status and child-IC relationship qualities may be more relevant to children's theory of mind. It will be interesting for the future researchers to investigate the underlying mechanism of the differences between children with egalitarian IC relationships and hierarchical IC relationships.

Chinese children's imaginary companions: Relations with peer relationships and social competence.

We investigated relationships between Chinese children's imaginary companions (ICs) and peer relationships and social competence in 160 children, aged 5-6 years old. Children and their mothers participated in the interviews regarding the details of the children's ICs, including the type of the companion and the quality of the child-IC relationship. Peer relationships were assessed using sociometric nomination and perceived popularity nomination. Teachers rated children's social competence. Here, 55 children (34.3%) were deemed to have engaged in imaginary companion play. There was no relationship between imaginary companion types and child-IC relationship qualities. Children with invisible friends received more positive nominations than children with personified objects. Children with egalitarian relationships received more positive nominations and popularity nominations, but fewer negative nominations and unpopularity nominations than children with hierarchical relationships. Compared with children with hierarchical relationships, teachers rated the children with egalitarian relationships higher in social competence. The results suggest that imaginary companion types and relationship qualities may represent different dimensions of imaginary companions, calling attentions to the different mechanisms underlying imaginary companion types and relationship qualities with respect to social functioning.

Parental Website-Descriptions of Children's Imaginary Companions

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.

Visual and Auditory Imagery Associated with Children's Imaginary Companions

In this study we interviewed children about their experiences of visual and auditory images when interacting with imaginary companions, and explored the extent that the nature of those experiences was related to children's performance on visual imagery tasks. Eighty-three 5-year-old children and their parents were asked about the children's imaginary companions, and the children were given tasks that assessed visual imagery, their ability to generate an imaginary conversation, verbal ability, and working memory. There were substantial individual differences in the extent that children report having visual and auditory images of their invisible friends, but almost all the children with personified objects reported finding it easy to both see and hear them. Children who found it easy to imagine seeing their invisible friends were more likely to show a pattern of reaction times that was consistent with the use of imagery than children with personified objects, children who reported finding it difficult to see their invisible friends, or children who did not have any type of imaginary companion. Children with imaginary companions (either invisible friends or personified objects) were more able to generate an imaginary conversation in the lab than children who did not have imaginary companions.

Self‐knowledge in childhood: Relations with children's imaginary companions and understanding of mind

Relations between interior self-knowledge and (a) imaginary companion (IC) status and (b) theory of mind (ToM) abilities were investigated in a sample (N= 80) of 4- to 7-year-olds. Interior self-knowledge was assessed in terms of the extent to which children acknowledged that they (rather than an adult) were the authority on unobservable aspects of themselves (e.g., dreaming, thinking, hunger). Compared with children without an IC, those who possessed a parentally corroborated IC ascribed less interior self-knowledge to an adult, with a trend for them to assign more interior self-knowledge to themselves. Children's interior self-knowledge judgments were not associated with their ToM performance. IC status was also unrelated to ToM performance. We consider how having an IC may provide children with opportunities to distinguish between knowledge that is inaccessible to an external observer and that which an external observer may glean without being told.

A Good Story: Children With Imaginary Companions Create Richer Narratives

In line with theories that children's pretend play reflects and extends their narrative skills, children with imaginary companions were predicted to have better narrative skills than children without imaginary companions. Forty-eight 5(1/2)-year-old children and their mothers participated in interviews about children's imaginary companions. Children also completed language and narrative assessments. Twenty-three of the children (48%) were deemed to have engaged in imaginary companion play. Children with and without imaginary companions were similar in their vocabulary skills, but children with imaginary companions told richer narratives about a storybook and a personal experience compared to children without imaginary companions. This finding supports theories of a connection between pretend play and storytelling by the end of early childhood.

Imaginary companions: An evaluation of parents as reporters

AbstractParents are often solicited as reporters on their children's imaginary companions (ICs), but the correspondence between their reports and children's descriptions of pretend friends has received little attention. Sixty 4‐year‐old children and their parents provided descriptions of the children's interest in fantasy play, and 40 of these pairs also reported on children's ICs (20 on invisible friends and 20 on personified objects such as dolls). Results indicated that reports from parents of children with ICs matched their children's reports for involvement in fantasy play better than those of parents of children without ICs. For both IC groups, parents' reports concurred with children's for IC form, sex and physical description, but overall, parent–child agreement was higher for invisible friends than for personified objects. Results imply that parents may be better reporters of normative developmental processes that are slightly atypical than those that are common to most children. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Imaginary companions of preschool children.

The developmental significance of preschool children's imaginary companions was examined. Mothers of 78 children were interviewed about their children's social environments and imaginary companions (if their children had them). Results revealed differences between invisible companions and personified objects (e.g., stuffed animals or dolls) in terms of the pretend friends' stability and ubiquity, identity, and relationship with the child. Relationships with invisible companions were mostly described as sociable and friendly, whereas personified objects were usually nurtured. Mothers reported that personification of objects frequently occurred as a result of acquiring a toy, whereas invisible friends were often viewed as fulfilling a need for a relationship. Compared to children without imaginary companions, children with imaginary companions were more likely to be firstborn and only children.

A developmental investigation of children's imaginary companions.

A developmental investigation of children's imaginary companions.

A developmental investigation of children's imaginary companions.

Twelve 4-year-olds with imaginary companions (ICs) and 15 without ICs were asked to describe and pretend to interact with the IC or a real friend. Children with ICs readily described them and were more willing than children without ICs to pretend the IC or real friend was in the lab. Children were interviewed about 7 months later, and the IC descriptions were as stable as the descriptions of real friends. Children with and without ICs did not differ in their ability to distinguish fantasy and reality, but IC children were more likely to hold an imaginary object instead of substituting a body part when performing a pretend action and were more likely to engage in fantasy in a free-play session