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Building from a panel at the 2022 National Communication Association (NCA) annual convention, the present article seeks to ground communication studies/sciences as central to interdisciplinary conversations surrounding sexuality education and communication. Communication is integral to sexuality education, and topics of communication, sex, and sexuality education are researched across disciplines. Still, research on sexuality education within communication studies remains under-attended, and interdisciplinary sexuality education research remains siloed by academic discipline. Presenting a forum featuring both emerging and leading scholars in the field of communication researching sex(uality) education, the present article seeks to establish the academic discipline of communication as integral to research on sexuality education. To do so, we first discuss communication as an academic discipline and its advancements in sexuality education research. Next, communication scholars offer their expertise in sex(uality education) communication topics including family conversations, cultural influence, health inequities in education, and medicine. Collectively, these perspectives offer an understanding of current sexual health research in the field of communication, as well as next steps through direct application to conversations about sex, improvement to our medical and education systems, and community-based education and intervention. It is our hope that this article fosters a larger conversation about the importance of communication (studies/sciences) in sexuality education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancer in younger adults is more likely to be diagnosed at an advanced stage. Furthermore, younger Black adults are more likely to be diagnosed with and die from colorectal cancer than younger White adults. Given these persistent racial disparities, urgent attention is needed to increase colorectal cancer awareness and information seeking among young Black adults. Guided by the reasoned action approach, the purpose of this study was to identify behavioral, normative, and control beliefs that influence general colorectal cancer information seeking, talking to a healthcare provider about colorectal cancer, and talking to family about cancer history. The sample included N = 194 participants; Mage = 28.00 (SD = 5.48). Thirty-one percent had ever searched for colorectal cancer information. We identified salient educational advantages to seeking information about colorectal cancer and talking to healthcare providers and family members about cancer history. Barriers included fear, misinformation, low priority, inaccessibility of information, and lack of interest or willingness. This is one of the few studies to investigate cancer communication behaviors among young Black adults. The findings can inform interventions to motivate engagement in cancer communication behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated interpersonal communication generated from a successful sexual health intervention for Black college women attending a Historically Black College/University (HBCU). Guided by the integrative model of behavioral prediction and the theory of gender and power, the intervention combined point-of-access health messages with condom distribution via condom dispensers. Using a mixed-methods approach, we examined communication partners, content, mode, valence, and perceived impact. Data were gathered from surveys (N = 105) and interviews (n = 10) with young adult women at an HBCU campus, conducted three months after the intervention. The findings revealed that 43% of women engaged in interpersonal communication and 21% engaged in online interactions about the dispensers. Friends were the most common conversation partners, and the conversations were mainly about condoms and the dispensers themselves. In general, the discussions were positive, showing support for the dispensers. Regression analyses revealed positive, significant associations between interpersonal communication and two key outcomes: condom acceptability and condom intentions. Overall, this study adds to research linking health communication interventions to interpersonal communication and subsequent attitudes and beliefs. Health communication interventions should actively encourage young Black women to share health-promoting information within their social networks to extend both the reach and impact of those interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]