The clinical characteristics of a group of female homosexuals who sought treatment were compared with those of a control group of nonhomosexual female psychiatric patients. The lesbian patients in our series were like lesbians generally, except that they had less stable homosexual relationships. Lesbians in our series differed significantly from control subjects in the following ways: increased paternal abusiveness and alcoholism, different vocational choice, an expected indifference toward men, and increased drug abuse. A trend toward more suicidal behavior was noted in the homosexual group. No major historic factors were related specifically to homosexuality, and the conflict over homosexuality was only one factor (not a primary one) that caused the patient to seek treatment.