Relationship between family attitudes measured by the Semantic Differential and relapse in schizophrenia: a 2 year follow-up prospective study.

A prospective study was carried out to investigate the relationship between family attitudes and relapse in a cohort of 80 schizophrenic patients followed up for 2 years. A significant relationship was found between attitudes as measured by means of a semantic differential during hospitalization and later relapse. Lack of treatment compliance, negative symptoms, unemployment and poor pre-morbid adjustment were also associated with relapse. In a multivariate analysis some of these variables changed their predictive power but the association between attitudes and relapse was maintained.