De-institutionalization and a transition to family-based alternatives have long been the answers to all issues raised against residential care of at-risk children by child welfare advocates in India. Despite the innumerable developmental benefits of family-based substitute care, complete eradication of child-care institutions from the national scenario has multiple practical constraints. Given these limitations, building resilience among institutionalized children has been considered a worthier goal for intervention. Unfortunately, the area has not received much attention, and only limited investigations have targeted this sub-set of the population. This grounded theory study aimed to theorize pathways through which orphaned adolescents within institutional care navigate to achieve positive adaptation. Purposive sampling resulted in interviews with 28 adolescents (16 males and 12 females) between 14 and 23 years old. Findings reveal that a desire to break through adversity was found to be at the core for enhancing the protective value of resources encountered post-institutional admission. This desire was found to be a direct consequence of an adversity struck childhood, and in conjunction with environmental resources, it was found to exert its protective influence in both initially maintaining children at the institution as well as in their long-term adjustment. These findings are significant as prior research has not focused on exploring the protective route fostering positive outcomes among institutionalized adolescents. It is concluded that given specific reforms, institutional care holds the potential to offer just what the at-risk residents desire when other options are unfeasible.

长期以来，去机构化和向家庭替代方案的过渡一直是印度儿童福利倡导者针对危及高危儿童的住所提出的所有问题的答案。尽管基于家庭的替代照料具有无数的发展利益，但从全国情况来看，彻底根除儿童保育机构仍然有多种实际限制。鉴于这些局限性，在被寄养的儿童中建立适应力被认为是干预的一个更有价值的目标。不幸的是，该地区并未引起太多关注，只有针对这一亚人群的有限调查。这项扎根的理论研究旨在理论化机构照料中的孤儿通过各种途径实现积极适应的理论。进行有目的的抽样调查时，访谈对象是14岁至23岁的28名青少年（男16例，女12例）。研究结果表明，突破逆境的愿望是增强机构入学后所面临资源的保护价值的核心。人们发现这种渴望是童年时期遭受逆境的直接后果，并与环境资源一起，在最初将儿童留在该机构以及对其进行长期调整方面都发挥了保护作用。这些发现具有重要意义，因为先前的研究并未集中在探索保护性途径上，以在制度化的青少年中培养积极的成果。结论是，经过特定的改革，