Orientation towards freedom in normals, psychotics and psychosomatic patients

A questionnaire was develeoped to assess the extent to which one wishes his freedom or rejects it. The questionnaire derived from voluntary explanations given by subjects for meaning of the words: decision making, free choice, freedom, and responsibility. In a preliminary study, the reliability and validity of the questionnaire was found to be satisfactory. Two hypotheses were tested: that mental patients reject their freedom more than normals, and that psychosomatic patients reject their freedom more than normals. The first hypothesis was not confirmed; the attitudes of the mental patients towards freedom were found to be polarized with two modes of response, either total rejection of freedom or an extreme wish for it. The second hypothesis was confirmed.