APA Dictionary of Psychology

n. the principle that a single cause, risk factor, or developmental pathway can lead to multiple different outcomes. In psychology, especially developmental psychopathology, multifinality highlights that individuals exposed to the same early adverse childhood experiences (e.g., trauma, deprivation, parental conflict) may diverge toward distinct emotional, behavioral, or health trajectories due to variations in biology, context, coping resources, and subsequent experiences. [From Latin multus, many, and fīnālis or fīnis, end, limit]