In a country like India, many mythylogical characters are reported. Usually these characters, usually are children's of god. For eg - Ganesha or Muruga or Hanuman, if need to check them in Wikipedia. They are introduced to young children usually by grand parents and help to inculcate certain characteristics in young children.

Thanks so much! Do children can 'see' the god or 'hear' the voice?Also, what happen when children grow up? Does the gods go away?

Previously, concept of joint family was prevalent in India. Children were rarely left alone. They were raised in environment full of family members taking care of them. But now, concept of joint family has largely become a thing of past. Now, children are mostly raised in periods of loneliness. This transition has resulted in increase in number of children with imaginary friends/companions.

Dear Dr Shewta Thakur, have you looked at work around TA Objects - there is a lot of information and a lot of research

Dr. Thakur, thanks for your information. That's quite interesting!

It's possible that change in society may lead to increase in the number of children with IC.

Dr. J-F, could you tell me a little bit more about TA objects?

Yes, it is very commom in Brazil. Imaginary friends here are usually reported to be at the same age of the children, not necessarily with the same gender, and usually manifest when kids are lonely - but it is not a indicator os focial isolation, since lots of children with real friends have imaginary ones, too.

Dr. Pianka

Thanks for your reply! It's interesting and consistent with recent literature on developmental psychology (Taylor, 1999).

as rightly mentioned by Rooban Thavarajah and shweta thakur, having imaginary characters as frieneds or support is a common phenomenon in children of nuclear family or those with social phobias or experiences from the past. other than teddy bears and dolls or cartoon characters, various powerful characters from mythology play the pivotal role. answering your question, no, the faith does not cease, but with attained maturity of age, they cease to be the strong mental support as nearby existing close friend.

https://www.researchgate.net/post/Are_anxiety_and_depression_higher_among_non-believers?ev=tp_feed_post_xview

Dear Dr. Kotak

Thanks! Given you and other researchers' suggestions, I am very interested in children in India.

TA - Transitional Objects - there is a lot of research around this

I am also interested in chirldren in Inida - perhaps there is an opportunity to colloborate here between India, Dr Moriguchi work and here in Australia

J-F, thanks. It is true that IC may be included in TA. But some researchers suggest that IC, especially an invisible friend, can be discriminated from TA. The issue is worth arguing.

That's a good idea! We can compare children in India, Japan, Australia. Seems interesting. Does anyone in India have interest in the project? Perhaps, psychologist.

I'm currently completing an honours thesis on imaginary companions and adult correlates (schizotypy, dissociation & relationships). Haven't collected the data yet, but expect it to reflect the American research. Mills (2003) gives an interesting anthropological perspective on ICs in India. It is possible that cultures with a belief in reincarnation are more likely to see ICs as memories from a past life.

Mills, A. (2003). Are children with imaginary playmates and children said to remember previous lives cross-culturally comparable categories? Transcultural psychiatry, 40(1), 62-90.

I am more interested in children with not so friendly ICs. In fact, during my recent interviews with preschool age children and their parents, I've discovered 2 cases which these children were reported to have imaginary stalkers or ghost-like stalkers with bad tempers and seemed to have the tendency to harm the children, according to their words. Anyone has any thought on that? Couldn't find too many case studies. I'm thinking about maybe early stage schizophrenia? 

Dear Mooloo,

Thanks for your comments. You are Chinese, aren't you? My Chinese colleagues says that Chinese children do not often play with Imaginary Companion. Is that true?

Regarding the "Imaginary Enemies", you can look at Book Chapter of The Oxford Handbook of the Development of Imagination. In Chapter 11, Carlson and  White suggests that 29 % of children do not control their IC, and such children have lower EF. This may be related to your imaginary stalkers. It is possible that such "Imaginary Enemies" may be related to schizophrenia.