Extracurricular activity participation plays a major role for positive youth development (Farb & Matjasko, 2012). Its potential is often underestimated even though not only school-based competencies are positively affected by extracurricular activity participation. Particularly, socially deprived youth and youth with lower school performance can benefit from its positive effects (Barber et al., 2014). Thereby, positive outcomes of activity participation are dependent on different determinants of the activities (Modecki et al., 2018): A broader range of activities, intensity and continuity in participation as well as perceived joy and a good relationship to the activity leader can support positive outcomes. However, most studies on extracurricular activity participation are cross-sectional and focus only on the range of activities (e.g. sports or music) rather than on specific determinants. Accordingly, studies with a longitudinal perspective and a focus on specific determinants are lacking. In addition, the tremendous effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on organized activity participation is not yet reflected comprehensively in ongoing research. Thus, by focusing on youth in middle and lower secondary educational school tracks in Germany, the current paper raises the following questions: 1) Which activity types can be identified regarding duration, breadth, intensity as well as joy and self-determination of participation during school time? 2) How did the participation patterns of the activity types change during the pandemic? The paper is based on a longitudinal survey conducted with young people before and during the pandemic. The baseline survey was conducted in 71 secondary schools in two federal states of Germany in the school year 2019/20 in final years (grades 9/10) with n=1,547 participants (51.5% female, Mage=15.9). Extracurricular activity participation during school career was measured retrospectively with a calendar instrument (Furthmüller, 2016) from grade 1 to grade 9/10. The second point of measurement was conducted in autumn 2021 with computer assisted telephone interviews (n=134), capturing activity participation during the pandemic. At first, using the manifest determinants of activity participation from the baseline data, three types of extracurricular activity participation were identified using latent class analysis (LCA): (1) Non active, (2) Normal active, and (3) Dedicated active. The three classes differ significantly regarding socioeconomic status, school achievement and other background indicators. Subsequently, changes in activity participation during the pandemic will be analyzed, with a special focus on the three latent classes. Results will be discussed against the backdrop of positive youth development and selective effects of activity participation during COVID-19.

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