An Imaginary Companion, Representing a Prestage of the Superego1

Thirteen (Svendsen, 1934) to twenty (Hurlock and Burstein, 1932) percent of our children go through a phase in which they play with a companion with a definite name and characteristic appearance but who exists only in their fantasy. The age at which this phenomenon most often occurs is between three and six. Although the vividness of these imaginations tends to frighten parents who often describe them as hallucinations, they are not a symptom of a psychosis nor are they indicative of a later outbreak of schizophrenia. Most parents are not aware of the fact that their children have imaginary companions, because the children anticipate that grownups would not understand this game and therefore hide it from them. Imaginary companions are not indicative of retarded mental development; the majority of these children are rather bright. Imaginary companions can be animals, older or younger children or adults. They can be used for scapegoats (devil), playmates, or protectors (Superman). One would expect that this phenomenon occurs most frequently in only children, but this is not necessarily the case. We find these imaginary companions also in children who have real playmates. Sometimes two children have a common game with an imaginary third companion. Imaginary companions are not only substitutes for the mother or for a playmate, but can also be used as a defense against overprotection. From the point of view of child analysis imaginary companions are especially interesting, because a child finds it easier to project his own fears and hopes onto the imaginary companion and to communicate them in this form instead of confessing that they are his own fears and wishes. I have first reported the case to be described in the seminary for child analysis under Anna Freud in 1931. I could not find a similar case since then, but I still do not think that the phenomenon is a very rare one. Dorothy Burlingham (1945), (1946), (1953) has also mentioned it.