Iran is an Islamic country with a collectivist patriarch culture in which being sexually different is not easily accepted. Families of homosexuals and transsexuals usually have a hard time dealing with them mostly because of their fear of losing face. But this has not been studied systematically.

The objective of this study was to explore the family environment of homosexual and transsexuals in Iran.

Data comes from a retrospective study of 40 homosexual and transsexuals, aged 18-28, who referred to a private sex clinic in Tehran. The Family Environment Scale (FES) was completed by all the participants.

Six family typologies were identified. The findings indicated that 55% were disorganized, 17.5% were conflict-oriented, 15% were support-oriented, 5% were achievement-oriented, 5% were moral-religious and 2.5% were independence-oriented.

Findings show that most families are disorganized and conflict oriented which clearly reflects the effect of stigmatization of being a sexual minority. This will put a lot of pressure on this group, putting them in danger of developing serious mental health problems. The implications for the necessity of family intervention will be discussed.