Identifiable causes for fussiness include
(1) hunger
(2) a wet diaper
(3) teething
(4) pain from an injury.
The average number of hours per day that the baby fusses or cries without apparent cause is recorded.
Parameters:
(1) amount of unexplained fussiness
(2) intensity of the fussiness
Scoring for each parameter is along a continuous spectrum from 0 to 6.
|
Level
|
Anchor Points
|
|
none
|
0
|
|
intermediate
|
3
|
|
extreme or maximal
|
6
|
fussiness score =
= (points for unexplained fussiness) + (points for fussiness intensity)
Interpretation:
• minimum fussiness score: 0
• maximum fussiness score: 12
A child is considered irritable if one or more of the following is present (Keefe 1998):
(1) amount of unexplained fussiness >= 3
(2) intensity of fussiness >= 3
(3) average hours of unexplained crying > 2.5 hours
