Emotions are fundamental to human development and survival across the lifespan. Adolescence is a volatile and critical developmental period characterized by frequent high-intensity positive and negative emotions. Emotion dysregulation is a transdiagnostic risk factor for various mental health disorders, specifically depression symptoms and suicidal behaviors. This study aims to explore the association of emotion regulation difficulties with depression and suicide risk among adolescent undergraduate students. The cross-sectional study used a descriptive-analytical design and sampled 384 participants aged 18 to 19 years old at the United States International University-Africa. Results showed no gender and ethnic differences in emotion regulation. There was a significant association between emotion regulation difficulties and depression, χ2(3) = 12.133, p = 0.007, V = 0.186. The researchers found a positive and significant linear relationship between the variables, r (352) = 0.229, p < 0.001, r2 = 0.052. When emotion regulation difficulties increase, depression levels also increase. Participants with high suicidal risk had significantly higher emotion regulation difficulties than those with low suicidal risk, p = 0.003. Post hoc analysis using Bonferroni-correction revealed that participants with high suicide risk levels had significantly higher depression scores than those with low risk, p < 0.001, and moderate risk, p = 0.046. The study concluded that during the transition to university, students struggle with modulating their emotions, which puts them at risk for clinical depression and risk for suicide.