Socialist core values represent the prevailing values promoted and fostered in Chinese
socialism, and have been widely acknowledged by all sectors of society as an integral component of
individual values. Research on self-affirmation suggests that personal values serve as a valuable internal
resource for combating various threats. Given the persistent impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,
individuals may experience negative emotions, such as anxiety, fear, and depression. To assess whether
self-affirmation intervention based on socialist core values can effectively activate these values and
mitigate negative emotions, this study recruited 295 participants for between-subject experimental
comparison. After balancing group differences, participants were assigned to the core values affirmation
group, familial affirmation group, or no affirmation group. Participants in all groups first completed the
pre-test Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, then read COVID-19 threat materials, followed by the self-affirmation
intervention, and finally completed the post-test Self-Rating Anxiety Scale. Results revealed that the posttest
anxiety scores of both the socialist core values affirmation group and the familial affirmation group
significantly decreased compared to their pre-test scores, with no significant difference observed between
the two groups. In contrast, the post-test anxiety scores of the no affirmation group did not significantly
differ from their pre-test scores. These findings suggest that self-affirmation intervention grounded
in socialist core values can effectively alleviate anxiety amid the COVID-19 pandemic and serve as a
useful intervention strategy for maintaining individual and group emotional well-being in future social
psychological service work.