title: A good story: children with imaginary companions create richer narratives.
abstract: In line with theories that children's pretend play reflects and extends their narrative skills, children with imaginary companions were predicted to have better narrative skills than children without imaginary companions. Forty-eight 5(1/2)-year-old children and their mothers participated in interviews about children's imaginary companions. Children also completed language and narrative assessments. Twenty-three of the children (48%) were deemed to have engaged in imaginary companion play. Children with and without imaginary companions were similar in their vocabulary skills, but children with imaginary companions told richer narratives about a storybook and a personal experience compared to children without imaginary companions. This finding supports theories of a connection between pretend play and storytelling by the end of early childhood.
authors.affiliation: Clark University, Worcester, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Trionfi
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Reese
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D008297:Male; D033262:Narration; D010988:Play and Playthings