Abstract:Having an imaginary companion (IC) is a fascinating example of children's imaginative and pretend play. However, there are inconsistencies in the reported prevalence of children's ICs. This study examined how culture may affect this prevalence. We conducted a meta-analysis to assess whether the culture, as well as age, assessment method, sex, and birth order, may affect the prevalence of ICs in studies that included children under age 12. The results revealed that culture, as well as assessment method and sex/birth order, may have a significant impact on the prevalence of ICs. Specifically, children in Western cultures were more likely to report invisible friends as compared to children in Japan, but the total prevalence of ICs did not differ across cultures. We illustrate several implications for future research on ICs.

中文翻译：

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儿童虚构伴侣的患病率：一项荟萃分析

摘要：拥有一个想象中的同伴（IC）是孩子的想象和假装游戏的一个有趣例子。但是，所报告的儿童IC患病率存在​​不一致之处。这项研究检查了文化如何影响这种流行。我们进行了荟萃分析，以评估文化，年龄，评估方法，性别和出生顺序是否可能影响包括12岁以下儿童在内的研究中IC的患病率。结果显示，文化，以及评估方法和性别/出生顺序可能会对IC的患病率产生重大影响。具体而言，与日本儿童相比，西方文化中的儿童更有可能报告看不见的朋友，但是IC的总流行率在不同文化中并无差异。我们说明了对集成电路未来研究的一些启示。