Female sexual function (FSF) refers to how desire, arousal, orgasm, pain, pleasure, and satisfaction are experienced by women. Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) is categorized into clinical diagnoses: sexual interest/arousal disorder, female orgasmic disorder, and genito-pelvic pain/penetration disorder. Differentiating problems with FSF from FSD, the criteria for FSD suggest there must be distress, symptom duration of at least six months, and experience of dysfunction in 75% or more of sexual experiences. Approximately 40-50% of women experience FSD, which impacts subjective experiences of sex, increases feelings of distress (e.g., sadness, guilt, anxiety), and reduces their overall quality of life. White women have been the focus of most US-based FSF/FSD studies, which does not accurately capture the experiences of US women. Black women have been an understudied demographic in this research, so this project is assessing the differential dyadic mechanisms of Black and White Women’s sexual functioning using an innovative method: actor-partner interdependence modeling (APIM). This project will also employ dyadic qualitative interviews and focus groups to glean the lived experience of women and their partners related to FSF/FSD, eliciting the key moments in their relationships that influenced FSF/FSD. The project will conclude with a message test to determine which FSF/FSD messages distilled from the first and second project aims are preferred among women’s romantic partners, based on partner demographic and attitudinal profiles. The overall goal of the project is to identify modifiable relationship dynamics that are acceptable for dyadic FSF/FSD intervention.