Multifinality, equifinality, and fanning are important developmental concepts that emphasize understanding interindividual variability in trajectories over time. However, each concept implies that there are points in a developmental window where interindividual variability is more limited. We illustrate the multifinality concept under manipulations of variance in starting points, using both normal and zero-inflated simulated data. Results indicate that standardized estimates and effect sizes are inflated when predicting components of growth models with limited interindividual variance, which could lead to overinterpretation of the practical importance of findings. Conceptual implications are considered and recommendations are provided for evaluating developmental changes in common situations that researchers may encounter.

Multifinality、equifinality 和 fanning 是重要的发展概念，强调理解轨迹随时间的个体差异。然而，每个概念都意味着在发展窗口中存在个体差异性更为有限的点。我们使用正常和零膨胀模拟数据来说明在起始点方差操作下的多终结性概念。结果表明，在预测具有有限个体差异的增长模型的组成部分时，标准化估计和效应大小会被夸大，这可能导致对结果的实际重要性的过度解释。考虑了概念含义并提供了建议，以评估研究人员可能遇到的常见情况下的发展变化。