Lindsay Lohan admits she has "made a lot of mistakes"

The `Mean Girls` actress - who was sentenced to 120 days in prison and 480 hours of community service last week for breaching the terms of her probation after allegedly stealing a $2,200 necklace from an upmarket jewellers - accepts she is responsible for her past transgressions and blames most of her errors of judgment on "being young".

The 24-year-old star - who shot to fame in 1998 Disney film `The Parent Trap` at the age of just 11 - said: "I think that being young and in the position that I was in you don`t really take the time to appreciate what you have. It was all a whirlwind but I`m not a kid anymore I`m 24 and I`ve made a lot of mistakes but I feel like if I can just stay focused I can achieve what I want to achieve."

Lindsay - who will star awith John Travolta in new Mafia movie `Gotti: Three Generations` - also revealed she was terrified she had ruined her acting career with her stints in rehab and several arrests but is now determined to gain people`s "respect back".

During an appearance on the `Tonight Show with Jay Leno`, she explained: "I`ve made a lot of poor decisions in the past and I`m dealing with the consequences of those decisions so there were times when I was concerned but I`m a fighter and I know that I have a lot of work to do to gain the respect back and I`m willing to do the work that I have to do to be an actress."

Lindsay is now due to return to court on May 11 for a pre-trial hearing in her theft case, after the charge was reduced from felony grand theft to a misdemeanour, with the actual trial planned for June 3.

sections: Celebrities