Self-conscious emotions such as humiliation and shame, along with problems of self-esteem, have been related theoretically to aggression, anger and violence for many years. However, as existing systematic reviews show, studies with offenders are relatively rare, small in scale and have conflicting findings. In this article, we have limited our review and discussion to violence rather than including the full range of offending, because we consider humiliation and particular self-esteem patterns to be key triggers and vulnerabilities, respectively, for violence. We have drawn on existing theories, our own theoretical and research work, and where evidence is lacking, we have tried to triangulate information from related studies. We begin with definitions before discussing possible mechanisms and inevitably refer to narcissistic personality structures in relation to aggression. We consider particular groups such as sexual offenders and psychopaths. We describe assessment methods, both interview and psychometric tests, with reference to problems of masking and ‘faking good’. We conclude with ideas for treatment, based on the theoretical background presented. However, the absence of randomised control trial evidence for many forensic interventions means that this largely constitutes a discussion about what could be tried and evaluated rather than what is known to work.
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