This study concerns body image changes in schizophrenic and nonpsychotic groups following a sensory deprivation experience. 20 schizophrenics and 20 nonpsychotics were examined before and after a sensory deprivation period with a test battery assessing various aspects of body image. A control group of 20 schizophrenics was similarly tested and retested but with no period of sensory deprivation intervening. This latter group showed no change in any of the body image measures pre-to posttesting. However, the 2 experimental groups demonstrated a number of changes in body image following sensory deprivation, with schizophrenics evidencing a degree of reintegration and nonpsychotics more disintegration in body image.

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The aim of this study is to explore the question of whether an individual's unconscious concept of his own body may be one factor in determining which areas of his body will become involved when body malfunctioning develops as a defense against disturbing psychological problems. In order to test the hypothesis that individuals with outer vs. interior psychosomatic symptoms differ in the emphasis they place upon the defensive value of the body exterior in their body image, it was necessary to compare body image data from various symptom groups. The results obtained indicate that the "body image" concept is a promising frame of reference from which to view psychosomatic phenomena. It would appear that the kind of differentiation which the individual makes in his body image between his body exterior and his body interior plays a significant role in his mode of expression of psychosomatic symptomatology. The individual who conceives of his body exterior as an exaggerated defensive barrier which must be protected against penetration tends to make use of a pattern of symptoms quite different from the individual who conceives of his body exterior as weak, easily permeable, and easily penetrated.