Thinking about mixing your metaphors in horror. Yeah, the (horror element) represents (real life thing), okay done.
But having an explicit (or extremely easy to infer) analoge to a real concept or experience can feel very flattening to the experience imo. I love when something has multiple interpretations that are equally valid. I love when there's a wrench thrown into the mix that doesn't necessarily negate a particular interpretation, but broadens it. Maybe instead of a story being about parental medical neglect, there's just enough room for interpretation for people to come away with many meanings that fall under a similar umbrella of general parental neglect, traumatic coming of age, etc. I love when there's enough room for the audience to fill themselves into the gaps— not a lack of specificity, but carefully crafted ambiguity where the audience can take on an active role in giving the work its meaning.