Análisis funcional de casos de conductas de juego en niños y jõvenes de Bogotá, Colombia

Results are presented from the functional analysis of six individual cases who participated in the larger scale research on games of chance and gambling by young people between 10 and 22 years, their skills and luck in Bogotá, Colombia. The six cases represent gaming variability, except case 2, a 17-year-old female who only plays lotteries. Minors participated with the informed consent of their parents, who were also interviewed. We used interviews, an opinion scale, a gaming situations scale, direct observations and self-recording of gambling frequencies over a period of eight to ten days. Functional analysis was used as a methodology to explain human and group behavior and to understand the micro and macro contextual variables functionally related to gaming and gambling behaviour in each case; it also enabled most of the subjects to be classified in the category of problematic gambling with a risk of pathological gambling. Some results are consistent with those reported by other authors from different conceptual frameworks while others indicate particularities which should be taken into consideration when reaching conclusions and proposing alternatives for intervention and future research. This study is a pioneer of its kind, in Colombia and in several places, for its methodology within the conceptual framework of behaviour analysis.