The objective was to study the relationship between family attitudes and social functioning in schizophrenia. A cohort of 80 patients was followed-up for 9 months after their hospitalization. The relatives' critical attitude and poor empathic attitude were measured by means of the Semantic Differential and the Questionnaire of Empathy, respectively. Time of useful work and social relations of the patients were measured before admission and at the end of follow-up. Symptoms, premorbid adjustment, and other course and demographic factors were also measured. Significant relationships were found between the relatives' poor empathic attitude and the patients' occupational functioning and social relations. These associations were maintained after controlling for the effects of other prognostic factors. These results suggest that empathy in the relative is an independent predictor of social functioning in people with schizophrenia. Different attitudinal dimensions of family attitudes might show different relationships with the social and clinical outcomes in this disorder.