Imaginary companion: a pre-school children study|Il fenomeno dell’amico immaginario oggi Una ricerca su bambini in età prescolare

[Autom. eng. transl.] The present study investigates the presence and possible characteristics of the imaginary friend in a group of 130 preschool children (M = 4.3 years; DS = 10.68 months) and verifies the associations between the presence of the imaginary friend, the gradient of fantasy, cognitive abilities and psychosocial adaptation of the child. The results show that 19 children (14.6%) have an imaginary friend and positively describe the relationship with him. Furthermore, the results show that children with an imaginary friend have a greater gradient of fantasy, better cognitive skills, and a good psychosocial adjustment than children without an imaginary friend.