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Almost half of New Zealanders had an imaginary friend in childhood, a university researcher has found.
Massey University education Professor Tom Nicholson said parents shouldn't worry that their child is a loner or a little strange if they confide in a made-up mate.
"It is a normal part of their development," he said. "They are sociable kids, they are not shy, they like talking to people."
Professor Nicholson said the findings were consistent with the popularity of imaginary friends in the United States and Britain.
He is about to start a project in a bid to widen local research and wants to hear from parents with a child who has an imaginary friend.
Professor Nicholson surveyed first-year university students about the phenomenon three years ago.
The previously unreleased findings showed about 40 per cent remembered having an imaginary friend.
Among the names bestowed were Polly, Sally, Max and Johnny. However, others thought up more fanciful names for their friends, including Director, Baby Raha and a duo dubbed Wiri and Gag.
"One of my students was saying he had an imaginary friend called Beep-beep that was just a phone friend," said Professor Nicholson, who will give an address on friendship at school with Professor Michael Townsend at Massey University's Albany campus this month.
In a wider study of more than 500 New Zealand university students about 10 years ago, 51 per cent recalled having an imaginary friend.
