Did Children Interact With Their Personified Objects During the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Area of Science:

• Child psychology
• Developmental psychology
• Behavioral science

Background:

• Previous research identified characteristics of children with imaginary companions.
• The reasons some children create imaginary companions remain unclear.
• Situational factors, like reduced social interaction, may influence imaginary companion prevalence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the prevalence of imaginary companions in children.
• To examine if decreased opportunities for real-world play influence imaginary companion creation.
• To differentiate the effects of the pandemic on different types of imaginary companions.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study involving 560 caregivers of children aged 2-9 years.
• Caregivers reported on children's imaginary companions (personified objects, invisible friends) before (Sept 2019) and during (April 2020) the pandemic.
• Logistic regression analysis controlled for potential confounding variables.

Main Results:

• The prevalence of personified objects significantly increased during the pandemic (OR = 2.01, 95% CI [1.34, 3.00]).
• No significant change was observed in the prevalence of invisible friends.
• Children engaged more frequently with personified objects during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic periods.

Conclusions:

• The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with an increased prevalence of personified objects as imaginary companions in children.
• Situational factors, such as reduced social interaction, may promote the use of inanimate objects for imaginary play.
• Further research is needed to understand the long-term effects and underlying mechanisms.