Prevalence of experiencing public humiliation and its effects on victims’ mental health: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Public humiliation is a negative self-conscious emotion that results from experiencing public humiliation; that is, being humiliated in public in front of witnesses. In the current study, experiencing public humiliation refers to the humiliation that is caused by a perpetrator or perpetrators with negative intent at a location that is accessible or visible to the public and in the presence of a witness(es). To investigate the settings where public humiliation occurs, its prevalence, and its impact on victims’ mental health, a systematic review and meta-analysis approach were employed. A total of 33 studies with a sample size of 40,468 were included in the current study. The findings demonstrate the behaviour of public humiliation occurred in a variety of settings (e.g., medical training, healthcare provision, schools) and population groups. The pooled prevalence of experiencing public humiliation was 34.9% (95%CI [0.266, 0.442]). The pooled effect size of experiencing public humiliation on victims’ mental health outcomes was OR = 1.878, 95%CI [1.550, 2.276]. Public humiliation appears to have a substantial impact on victims’ mental health (including symptoms of emotional distress, anxiety, depression; increased stress; posttraumatic stress disorder; suicidal ideation/attempt; Stockholm syndrome, burnout, and being traumatised). A potential mental health pathway model depicting the mechanism underlying the relationship between experiencing public humiliation and mental health is proposed. Recommendations are provided for future research to isolate public humiliation to understand its specific effect on mental health and for developing interventions.