Childhood Imaginary Companionship and Mental Health in Adolescence

An imaginary companion (IC) is a frequently encountered childhood fantasy, invisible to anyone but the child, who may be named, addressed or played with. Whether the presence of an IC is a normal developmental feature has not been determined. We examined psychometric measures and the presence/absence of childhood IC in a sample of 850 mentally healthy adolescents. 17.6% of our subjects, more often females, reported having had such a companion. Subjects who reported having had an IC in childhood exhibited higher levels of distress and emotional discontrol, displayed prolonged transitional object attachment and immature modes of coping with stress. Thus, although childhood imaginary companionship is not indicative of psychopathology, it may denote a vulnerability for adolescent perturbation and difficulty in coping with emotionally laden situations.