Body image boundary definiteness and psychopathology.

In an attempt to clarify the relation between body image boundary definiteness and psychopathology, the hypothesis that at each level of psychic adaptation groups with stronger and groups with weaker body image boundaries should be found, is examined. The hypothesis that hysterics as well as nonparanoid schizophrenics would have weaker, whereas obsessive compulsives and paranoid schizophrenics would have stronger body image boundaries receives only indirect empirical support. A short theoretical discussion is presented.