Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Maternal health behaviors may co-occur as interconnected patterns. This study, guided by the Family Health Development framework, examined these behaviors as an interconnected system and investigated whether network structure varied by socioeconomic status. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional secondary analysis of nationally representative data from Korea (Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey [KNHANES], 2022-2023). Seven binary health behaviors were modeled using pairwise φ-correlation networks, and permutation-based Network Comparison Tests compared income and education strata. RESULTS: Fruit and vegetable intake and non-smoking were central to the network, showing multiple connections with other health behaviors. Network structure and global connectivity did not significantly differ by household income or maternal education. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal health behaviors operate as an integrated system rather than independent choices in Korea. Targeting central behaviors (dietary behavior and smoking cessation) may yield spillover benefits across multiple health behaviors.