slight decrease in the area of general participation in civil society

A small decrease is visible in the participant sample in the area of ‘general participation in civil society’. The levels fall from the median of 4.0 to 3.6 between the third and fourth survey wave (in contrast, the increase between the first and third survey wave from a median of 3.6 to 4.0 is not significant). The majority of the subgroups show the same pattern, even though the significant results are sporadically distributed between the negative and positive developments. [...] Conversely, the abovementioned drop seems to be visible also in the qualitative study. Many interview partners, who start or intensify their engagement due to the project, are still active at the time of the third interview. They report numerous and various developments within their engagement two to three years after the project. For instance, they offer trainings, take over more responsibility in the committees of their organisation, they are charged to coordinate the volunteers, support the formation of a nationwide head association for voluntary work, organise and implement summer camps for the younger members, start initiatives and much more. However, some of these interviewees report to engage less. In their argumentation, a decreasing motivation is rarely mentioned. They mainly argue to have come into a phase of life in which they invest more time in their private and professional life. For example, they concentrate on school or university, are confronted with unemployment and need to search a new job or spend time with their partner and/or start a family. These life trajectory-related changes are supported by the demographic data collected through the online surveys. The percentage of participants who live in partnerships or are married increase rather rapidly over the observed period of three years, an increase from about 24% before participating in the project to about 41% three years later.