This paper is a theoretical investigation of body identity. It is an attempt to deepen the analysis of body identity in its subjective aspect, which is framed as a constellation of complex identity senses: the sense of being, continuity of body self in time and space, inner consistency, separateness and bodily limits, as well as the senses of body ownership and agency. All the identified motives of body identity are regarded as pertaining to a special scope in the relationship with the body which produces the sense of body self, i.e., the sense of being an embodied subject. Ultimately, body identity is defined as a holistic and a higher order manner of experiencing one’s body self which anchors a human being in his/her subjectivity and uniqueness, thus complementing the individual and social aspect of identity.

The presented study was intended to shed some new light on the disturbance of body experience in persons with schizophrenia in reference to the Embodied Subject Model. The model proposes to complement theoretical linkages between concepts related to bodiness – body self and mental representations of the body (body schema, body image, body awareness) and a relatively new concept of body identity. The main research questions were: Given that persons with schizophrenia are characterised by the painful experience of their body as an external object, would they also manifest i/ weakened sensorimotor integration mechanisms, ii/ disordered mental representations of the body, iii/ weakened sense of body ownership? 41 individuals with schizophrenia and 41 matched controls participated in the Rubber Hand Illusion procedure. Body representations were measured with a Battery of Tests of the Body Self Representations. The individuals with schizophrenia showed lower scores in three body representations and greater susceptibility to the rubber hand illusion. It suggests that the explanation of susceptibility to disturbances in the sense of body ownership should be focused on the deficient structure of mental representations of the body.