Doctoral students Emily Mendelson and Megan Jacobs Farnworth were awarded the Donald P. Cushman Memorial Award by the National Communication Association for their essay titled “Disclosure-Related Social Support and Reappraisals as a Result of Sharing Abortion Experiences with Close Others.” The award honors the top-ranked student-authored paper from all NCA units that competitively rank papers for programming at the NCA Annual Convention. 

Their study, in which they interviewed 30 people who had an abortion, found that participants decided whether or not to disclose their pregnancies or abortions based on their anticipated response. Those who needed social support to find abortion-related resources were more likely to share with others, unlike those who feared stigmatizing responses.  

“Based on how others responded to these abortion-related disclosures, participants were able to think more positively about their decision to pursue an abortion, and they felt closer to the person they sought support from, especially those who were helpful and not stigmatizing in their responses,” said Mendelson.  

“Ultimately, our study emphasizes the importance of providing non-stigmatizing responses when individuals disclose health concerns to others.” 

Other student research to receive awards from NCA units this year include: 

• Elinor Fujimoto’s paper “Who (Specifically) is Persuaded by Gain- and Loss-Framed Messages? A Meta-Analytic Comparison of Regulatory Focus and BIS/BAS” in the Communication and Social Cognition Division 
• Wallace Golding’s paper “Of Rights and Land: Tensions in Black Freedom Rhetoric and Restoration After the Civil War” in the Public Address Division 
• Emily Mendelson’s paper “The Communicative Disenfranchisement of Disabled Individuals During Healthcare Appointments: Material Ramifications of Inaccessible Talk and Space,” co-authored with Charee Thompson, in the Health Communication Division 
• Ethan Morrow’s paper “Scamming Higher Ed: An Analysis of Phishing Content and Trends” in the Human Communication and Technology Division

Editor's note: This story originally appeared in the Department of Communication Fall '24 newsletter.