Prevalence of imaginary companions in a normal child population

Abstract

Approximately 1800 children between the ages of 5 and 12 years were randomly selected and asked whether they had present or past experiences of imaginary companions. It was found that 829 (46.2%) children reported experiences of imaginary companions. These findings were unexpected as previous studies had suggested that imaginary companions are generally experienced by fewer, much younger children. There were no significant differences in creativity scores between children who reported imaginary companions compared with those who did not. Imaginary companions were reported by more girls than boys, and were not restricted to very young children.

Parental Website-Descriptions of Children's Imaginary Companions

“…The finding that more messages were about girls than about boys corresponds with previous study results that there are more girls than boys with imaginary companions (Pearson et al, 2001). In addition, boys seem to prefer personified objects and these were hardly ever the topic of parental messages (Ames & Learned, 1946;Taylor et al, 2004).…”

“…In addition, in the scientific world, it is well-known that many young (preschool)children have imaginary companions (Taylor et al, 2004). Older children, in contrast, tend to less overtly act out their fantasy, which has lead to more unawareness of the prevalence of imaginary companions in middle childhood (Pearson et al, 2001;Taylor et al, 2004).…”

“…Having an imaginary or pretend companion, is a common experience for schoolchildren. About 50 to 65% of the children have one or more imaginary companions at a certain point of childhood (Hoff, 2005;Pearson, Rouse, Doswell, Ainsworth, Dawson, Simms et al, 2001;Taylor, Carlson, Maring, Gerow, & Charley, 2004). In addition, several studies have been carried out investigating differences between children with and without experiences of imaginary companions.…”

Le risque de perdre sa « voix » ou les dangers de la perte de sens en psychiatrie

“…Par exemple, très fréquemment, les jeunes enfants âgés de moins de 12 ans (46,2 % jusqu'à 65 % : Pearson et al, 2001 ;Taylor et al, 2004) interagissent de façon cognitivo-perceptuelle avec leurs compagnons imaginaires au gré de leurs besoins et imaginaire fertile. À 7-8 ans, un échantillon non clinique de Jenner et al (2005) montre une prévalence de 8.7 % au cours de la dernière année d'hallucinations auditives dont le tiers des enfants étaient évalués comme portant une charge psychique sévère par la fréquence (plus d'une fois par jour), l'intensité de celles-ci au plan sonore et l'interférence des hallucinations sur la capacité de penser.…”

An imaginary friend that connects with the user's emotions

“…Imaginary friends are common among children. Approximately 50% of children aged between 5 and 12 years old have experiences with imaginary friends [3]. Perhaps many adults also have imaginary friends but lack the courage to assume it because they feel it is too childish a thing for their age.…”