Prevalence of imaginary companions in a normal child population

Approximately 1800 children between the ages of 5 and 12 years were randoml y selected and asked whether they had present or past experiences of imagin ary companions. It was found that 829 (46.2%) children reported experiences of imaginary companions. These findings were unexpected as previous studie s had suggested that imaginary companions are generally experienced by fewe r, much younger children. There were no significant differences in creativi ty scores between children who reported imaginary companions compared with those who did not. Imaginary companions were reported by more girls than bo ys, and were not restricted to very young children.