Prokupek, LuisaLuisaProkupek0009-0008-8634-7270Hummel, TheresiaTheresiaHummelBlaurock, SabineSabineBlaurockCohen, FranziskaFranziskaCohen0000-0003-4817-9962Anders, YvonneYvonneAnders2026-03-132026-03-132026https://fis.uni-bamberg.de/handle/uniba/114267The home literacy environment (HLE) has a considerable influence on children's language development. How parents perceive their own parenting abilities (e.g., how well they encourage their children's language development) is particularly important when it comes to guiding their children appropriately through different stages of development. This self-perception, referred to as parental self-efficacy (PSE), is an important aspect of the home learning environment that has been shown to be a significant predictor of beneficial parenting practices and ultimately successful child development. However, families exhibit differences in how they encourage their children's language development and need support to feel confident in their parenting abilities. Furthermore, the family environment is becoming increasingly digitalised. Thus, there is great potential for the HLE to be enhanced via digital family support. The present study empirically tests relations between the intensity of use of a family support app, language-related PSE and HLE based on data from 184 German families with toddlers. Results of mediation analyses showed that the intensity of app use was positively related to increases in language-related PSE, which again was positively associated with an increased frequency of language-stimulating activities in the HLE. There was no direct association between the intensity of app use and language-stimulating activities. The findings illustrate that parenting apps offer a promising approach to strengthening PSE. The results also reflect more broadly the relevance of language-related PSE for the HLE of families with toddlers.engdigital family supporthome literacy environmentparental self-efficacyparenting apparticleurn:nbn:de:bvb:473-irb-114267x