Interesting that the only reference or article that Kazdin cites or links to is one about inflexible ideologies. No mention of any specific research or researchers despite nearly histrionic claims of "science says"! Yes, he may be President of APA but that does not mean he has mystical powers over the scientific literature, such that he can make it say what he wishes.

As has been pointed out "1 in 3" parents who escalate from "mild" corporal punishment to abuse does not make non-escalators "rare". Lumping all corporal punishers in together is also unfair and unscientific, and Kazdin characterizes them all as reactionary and unreflective.

He also ignores the cultural research which shows that people with different cultural backgrounds within our country have different outcomes with different parenting styles. That is, a harsh parenting style from a culture in which that harshness is the norm seems to be "associated" with the best kids. (Chao, 1994; Coulton, Korbin, Su, & Chow, 1995...actually, for a nice list of other references take a look at The Nurture Assumption by Harris, 1998).

Lastly (and perhaps most importantly) Kazdin still seems determined to ignore the behavioral genetics research, so embarrassing to the APA and established conventional wisdom, that says kids grow up to be like their parents BUT NOT BECAUSE OF HOW THEIR PARENTS TREAT THEM. That is, an impulsive parent may be more likely to engage in spontaneous violence, and to have an impulsive kid who gets into trouble. However, the mistake researchers make constantly is to assume that it's the punishment, and NOT the genes, that is causing the child to behave badly. As we become more and more aware of how genes influence behavior we have to question these assumptions...Kazdin does not.

In the end, this article claims loudly to be about empirical research but is just another political call to action from someone who is entrenched deeply on their side of the debate.